An investigation into a technical issue that impacted the results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which was given by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has been ordered by the House of Representatives.
During Thursday’s plenary session, the House issued the directive after Osun State representative Adewale Adebayo’s motion of urgent public significance was approved.
For students hoping to be admitted into Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, JAMB administers the UTME every year. For many Nigerian students, passing this test is a crucial step because it establishes their eligibility for additional education.
To increase efficiency and reduce malpractice, JAMB changed the UTME format from paper-based to computer-based testing (CBT) in recent years.
Concerns have been raised, nevertheless, about technical challenges that test takers faced, such as system errors, network outages, and login problems. Lawmakers have now taken notice of the alleged technical issue in the 2025 UTME, prompting the House of Representatives to launch an investigation.
The investigation’s goals are to pinpoint the malfunction’s root causes and suggest countermeasures to prevent future occurrences of the same kind. Peter Obi, a former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, has responded to the controversy surrounding the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Ishaq Oloyede, the JAMB Registrar, acknowledged that 206,610 candidates in 65 locations in Lagos and 92 locations in the Owerri zone—a total of 173,387 candidates across the five South East states—were impacted by mistakes in the recently concluded UTME.
Oloyede acknowledged, “What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors.” “Even after we arranged all the equipment, mistakes persisted.” “206,610 in 65 centres in Lagos and 92 centres in the Owerri zone comprising 173,387 candidates in the five states of the South East were affected,” he continued.
Oloyede, who accepted responsibility for what he called a “sabotage” of the 2025 UTME, stated that the Board will begin texting the impacted candidates on Thursday.
Additionally, he announced that impacted applicants will now have the chance to retake the test from May 16 to May 19, 2025.
Peter Obi responded in a statement on Thursday, calling on JAMB and other important organisations to implement thorough quality assurance frameworks that include frequent audits and stringent testing of technical infrastructure. He pointed out that although JAMB deserves praise for its prompt action and readiness to acknowledge its mistakes, the incident has exposed a much more alarming reality.
The emotional and psychological toll on students and even parents—some of whom have reportedly experienced severe trauma—and in tragic cases, even death, serves as a reminder of what is at stake, according to the former governor of Anambra State.
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