The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has given an assurance that the resit exam will not clash with the ongoing West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
The body reacted to concern being expressed by some candidates.
JAMB, in its X handle, said: “We’re in synergy with WAEC, necessary action will be taken to avoid clash in examination schedules.”
The body had rescheduled the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for 379,999 candidates in five states of South-East and Lagos state, following technical hitches experienced during the exams, which led to error in the results.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, had disclosed that affected candidates would be communicated through SMS by Thursday so they could reprint their slip for rescheduled exams on Friday and Saturday.
Daily Trust reports that some candidates who have gotten notifications from JAMB are excited to take a second go on the examination while others from the northern region decried their exclusion, saying they also experienced technical hitches during the examination.
One of the candidates who got the notification to resit for the UTME, Lucky Onipe, expressed gratitude to take the exam again, hoping to surpass the previous result.
Onipe, whose exam is slated for Saturday, said his previous result was below his expectation.
Another candidate who wants to be addressed as Emenike said he got the notification via his father phone. He expressed mixed feeling because of little time for preparation.
He said his school had planned to protest their results before JAMB admitted to the errors.
He, however, said he was happy for getting this opportunity to rewrite the examination, expressing hope that the errors would not be repeated.
Meanwhile, some candidates from the northern part of the country have demanded an equal opportunity to also retake the examination.
They expressed dismay over their exclusion, calling for the same opportunity to be extended across the country—especially in light of the mass failure recorded in the general examination.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Aisha Garba, a candidate from Kano, described the move as discriminatory.
“Why only Lagos and a few states? Many of us also faced technical issues—slow systems, login errors, and in some cases, abrupt shutdowns. JAMB itself admitted that there were irregularities. If they acknowledge errors, then all candidates should be treated equally. This decision only adds to the sense of marginalization we feel,” she said.
Mohammed Usman, who lives in Kano but wrote his UTME in Bauchi, said the mass failure, especially in science-based subjects, could not simply be blamed on students.
Fatima Aliyu, also a Kano-based candidate, said the exclusion of other regions is a direct blow to the hope of students already grappling with poor infrastructure and limited resources.
The candidates urged JAMB to uphold equity and national unity by extending the resit offer to all states, warning that failure to do so could erode public trust in the credibility of the examination body.
They also called on northern governors, the National Assembly, and civil society groups to intervene and ensure their voices were heard.
Also, some candidates who have challenges during the examination in Katsina also called on the board to reschedule the examination for them.
Some candidates, who spoke to newsmen, said their fingerprints were rejected by the machines during the exam in Katsina State.
One of the candidates, Aliyu Usman said it was painful for him to spend money and time but only to encounter a biometric verification problem.
Abdullahi Binta, who said her fingerprint was rejected at her centre, said she was supposed to write her exam on April 28 by 6:30 a.m.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone “A”, which comprises student leaders from the seven states of the Northwest, has also added their voice by condemning the retaking of the UTME in some quarters.
The students’ body described action as “blatant act of discrimination”.
In a press statement signed by the Zone’s Coordinator, Sadi Garba Said, NANS Zone A expressed dismay over JAMB’s decision to allow only candidates from certain southern states to resit the exam due to technical hitches—while denying the same opportunity to candidates in the North, despite widespread reports of mass failure and examination irregularities.
Reps to probe mass UTME failure, demand release of underage candidates results
The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the circumstances leading to the mass failure of candidates in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) recently.
This followed the adoption of a motion on matters of urgent public importance moved by Rep. Adewale Adebayo at the plenary on Thursday.
The motion was adopted after a voice vote put by the Speaker.
The House referred the motion to the relevant committees of the House and asked JAMB to release the results of under-16 students.
It could be recalled that the results of the 2025 UTME released by JAMB on May 9 showed that more than 70 per cent of the candidates scored less than 200 points out of the 400 maximum obtainable points.
However, the JAMB registrar, had during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said the board undertook an early review and uncovered a major technical hitch which affected the results of 379,997 candidates.
Obi lauds Oloyede for accepting responsibility
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, Thursday, on his X handle, while commending the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, for accepting responsibility for the crisis, warned that Nigeria cannot afford to make glitches become a national crisis.
Meanwhile, some Nigerian universities have commended the Registrar of JAMB for demonstrating accountability and urged citizens to support him.
The Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Professor Wahab Egbewole in a statement issued on Thursday commended the JAMB registrar for showing an uncommon phenomenon in Nigeria as took responsibility of the 2025 UTME result mistakes.
Similarly, Lagos State University on Thursday commended Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, for demonstrating accountability, urging Nigerians to support him.
The university gave the commendation in a statement issued by its Deputy Registrar and Coordinator, Centre for Information and Public Relations, Mrs Oluwayemisi Thomas-Onashile.
Thomas-Onashile urged Nigerians to see the events surrounding the conduct of this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination not as a failure on the part of JAMB but as an opportunity to further strengthen the examination systems.(Daily trust)
