The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the release of results for candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.
In a statement issued on Sunday via its official X platform, and signed by spokesperson Fabian Benjamin, the board disclosed that 1,264,940 results from the two days are now available for candidates to access.
“The results of candidates who sat the examination on Friday, 17 April and Saturday, 18 April 2026 have now been released.
”A total of 1,264,940 results from these two days are available for candidates to check/view,” the statement read.
The board also outlined the procedure for checking results, stating: “To view their results, candidates should send UTMERESULT to 55019 or 66019 using the phone (SIM) number they used to register for the 2026 UTME.”
JAMB noted that it had earlier released 632,752 results for candidates who wrote the examination on Thursday, April 16.
“This brings the total number of results released so far to 1,897,692,” the board added.
Earlier in the day, the examination body had apologised for the delay in releasing the latest batch of results as initially scheduled.
It reassured candidates that the results would be made available later on Sunday.
The board had previously indicated that results for candidates who sat for the exam on Friday, April 17, would be released on Saturday.
However, the delay sparked frustration among candidates awaiting their scores.
Explaining the situation, JAMB said the setback was caused by the temporary absence of its chief executive, who was engaged in official duties at the time.
Meanwhile, participation figures for the 2026 UTME showed a significant turnout, with over two million candidates registered for the nationwide examination, which commenced on April 16 across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres.
According to the board, a total of 2,243,816 candidates registered for this year’s exercise, marking a 10.5 per cent increase compared to the 2.03 million recorded in 2025.
To manage the large number of candidates, the examination was structured into four daily sessions, aimed at reducing congestion and improving verification processes.
A breakdown of registration data showed that Lagos State recorded the highest number of candidates with 381,814.
Ogun State followed with 137,156 candidates, while Oyo recorded 122,662. Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory posted 103,498 and 102,961 candidates respectively.
Outside Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire recorded the highest number of candidates with 32, followed by Equatorial Guinea with 16, Burkina Faso with 14, and the United Kingdom with 12. Other countries, including Gambia, Ghana, and South Africa, recorded fewer than 10 candidates each.
