The House of Representatives has tendered an apology to Nigerians, particularly parents and candidates affected by the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) glitch, which disrupted the participation of over 300,000 candidates.
Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies, Honourable Oboku Oforji, conveyed the apology on behalf of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
It was reported that a technical fault marred the conduct of the UTME, affecting a total of 379,997 candidates from Lagos and the Southeast zone.
Oforji described the disruption as regrettable and urged Nigerians to forgive the leadership of JAMB, attributing the incident to human error.
“The committee in the House of Representatives responsible for oversight of examination bodies, including JAMB, expresses deep sympathy for the candidates affected by the errors experienced during the examination,” he said. “We sincerely apologise on behalf of the examination body to all Nigerians.”
He commended the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, for accepting responsibility and issuing a public apology to the affected candidates, their parents, and the country at large.
However, Oforji maintained that the errors were avoidable, attributing them to negligence on the part of JAMB.
He acknowledged the determination and resilience of Nigerian students in their pursuit of education. He noted that, despite JAMB’s consistent efforts from registration through to the release of results, unforeseen faults had occurred in this cycle.
The lawmaker called for an independent and thorough investigation into the matter, stressing the importance of accountability.
“I would like to state unequivocally that members of the National Assembly share these concerns and extend their apologies to the Nigerian public. We also call for an independent and thorough investigation into the matter,” he said.
Oforji added that the committee had been working on reforms to strengthen monitoring mechanisms across the six geopolitical zones in collaboration with JAMB to raise standards in examination administration.
He emphasised the need to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and underscored the importance of protecting the image of JAMB and the integrity of the nation’s education system.
“The government and the country’s educational system, which is a cornerstone of our future, cannot withstand another scandal,” he stated.
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