The House of Representatives has apologised to Nigerians, especially parents and candidates of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), over the avoidable glitch that affected more than 300,000 participants.
The Chairman, House Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies, Rep. Oboku Oforji, expressed the apologies on behalf of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
The UTME had been marred by a technical error, affecting a total of 379,997 candidates from Lagos and the South-East zone.
Oforji expressed regret over the glitch and sympathised with Nigerians, urging them to forgive the JAMB leadership over what he called human error.
“The committee in the House of Representatives responsible for overseeing examination bodies, including JAMB, expresses its deep sympathy for the candidates affected by the errors experienced during the examination.
“We sincerely apologise on behalf of the examination body (JAMB) to all Nigerians,” Oforji said.
He saluted the courage and sincerity of the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, for accepting the fault on behalf of his team and apologising to the parents, candidates, and the country in general.
Oforji called for an independent and uncompromising investigation into the matter.
“I would like to state unequivocally that the 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.
The lawmaker emphasised the importance of monitoring the examination to avoid similar occurrences in the future.
He stressed the need to de-escalate the error by ensuring that the image of JAMB and that of the country not scandalised.
“The government and the country’s educational system, which is a cornerstone of our future, cannot withstand another scandal,” he said.
