Nigerians have reacted to the controversy between Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and a candidate over the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result.
JAMB had released the result on Tuesday, May 3, 2023, asking its candidates to check on its portal.
Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School Uruagu, Nnewi in Anambra State, checked, printed the result slip, and claimed to have scored 362.
Miss Nkechinyere Kamsiyochukwu Umeh from Anambra State, a student of Deeper Life High School, Mowe, Ogun State, also claimed to have scored 360.
JAMB withdraws her result
But on Sunday, July 2, JAMB withdrew the disputed result over what it described as alleged manipulation of her scores, declaring that Mmesoma scored 249.
A statement signed by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB head of public affairs and protocol, stated that certain 2023 UTME aspirants were disguising bogus test results in an effort to get an unfair edge.
“It is to be noted that Miss Mmesoma had sent a message to the Board’s platform to request her UTME result after which she manually inflated her scores and pasted same on the 2022 UTME result sheet.
“Unknown to her, the Board had changed the design of the 2023 UTME result sheet. Her original result remains 249 as nothing can change that. With this her ignoble act, Miss Mmesoma would be prosecuted and her original result withdrawn.
“This is not all as the Board would, in due course, investigate all candidates laying claims to higher scores than they actually obtained. Once discovered, such candidates’ original results would be withdrawn forthwith and they would be handed over to relevant security agencies for prosecution.”
The exam body, which also listed the case of one Atung Gerald in Kaduna that allegedly claimed to have scored 380, advised the public not to fall victim to the antics of the candidates.
“The Board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake,” Benjamin said.
“In many instances, some of these candidates had actually obtained far lower scores than they are claiming and had used some funny software packages to manipulate their results to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
“The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded a N3m scholarship by Chief (Dr.) Innocent Chukwuma.
“She was even set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim only for the Board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had actually scored 249 and not 362 she claimed. She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public to fraudulently obtain scholarship and other recognitions.”
The JAMB spokesman warned that the likes of Mmesoma are still out there deceiving those who are always in a hurry to bestow honours on candidates without confirming from the Board.
He gave another instance of one Atung Gerald in Kaduna, who claimed to have scored 380.
“His ethnic group had taken the issue up requesting that he should be given special recognition only for the Board to disappoint them with the incontestable fact that Atung never obtain the 2023 UTME application documents not to talk of sitting the examination,” Benjamin said.
This was as JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede had, on June 24, 2023, unveiled Umeh Nkechinyere of Anambra State at the 2023 policy meeting in Abuja.
Following the high score, Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company, awarded Mmesoma a N3 million scholarship.
Mmesoma’s defence of her JAMB result
However, the student who is at the centre of the controversial result has defended it in a Twitter post, which she claimed to have printed from JAMB portal.
In a viral video on Monday, July 3, the girl said “I am traumatized. I did not forge my UTME result. I m incapable of doing so. I went to JAMB portal to print this result. This is the evidence” Mmesoma Ejikeme insisted and displayed her result slip.
Soludo orders probe into the UMTE controversy
To clear the hovering dust, Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo has ordered a probe into the controversy trailing the UMTE result of a student from the state.
In a statement on Monday, July 3, the Anambra Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, said the State government had instituted a panel of inquiry to probe the controversy.
“A panel of inquiry has been set up to work with security agents to investigate the allegation of falsification of result levelled against Mmesoma Ejikeme, who had earlier been showcased in the social media as having scored the highest.”
The commissioner described the controversy on the girl’s result as embarrassing, “especially coming at a time Governor Chukwuma Soludo is repositioning the education sector in Anambra State.”
She, however, hailed Nkechinyere Umeh who was declared by JAMB as the highest scorer nationwide with a cumulative mark of 360 in the 2023 UTME.
Nigerians react
Amidst the confusion trailing the result, Nigerians have, through their Twitter handles, decided to generate heat on the controversial result between JAMB and its candidate.
Oseni Rufai, a popular journalist in his Twitter handle queried ”JAMB must investigate and show us empirical facts. What happened to the results. I hope no glitch occurred. Fingers-crossed.’
Another Twitter user, Master UK penned ”Sir, that result is fake. I can prove that the result is fake. The cafe people have duped her of high score.”
Joshua in his Twitter handle wrote ‘‘It is not possible. You can’t forge a barcode that will lead you to Jamb portal with someone else result.’’
Onyex Mann remarked ”Jamb should not allowed itself to be used for ethnic , tribal , religious and political discrimination. Intelligence is a gift from God , you can’t have through the above mentioned methods.”
Uche P. Okoye noted ”After the investigation, they didn’t give any report but rushed to the media to declare that she forged her result. This is the irresponsibility I’m talking about. JAMB just like INEC is a big shame. Listen to Mmesoma tells her side of the story.’’
Will E. stated ”Poor girl being vilified by JAMB for JAMB’s own failings. I particularly liked the part where she said “I’m not capable of this, forging results, this is the evidence”. Accusing her of forgery before investigation was straight-up wrong and a defamation of her character. Sue them!”
“I am traumatized. I did not forge my UTME result. I m incapable of doing so. I went to JAMB portal to print this result. This is the evidence"
Mmesoma Ejikeme insists, displays proof. So what is really going on? Is there an *"INEC glitch"* on JAMB portal???? JAMB, over! We… pic.twitter.com/UC7QhAgvFx
— 𝓞𝓷¥€𝓪𝓷𝓲 𝓚𝓪𝓵𝓾 (@Onyeani_Kalu) July 3, 2023
