Amid the controversy trailing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result obtained by Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has insisted that her result is “patently fake.”
On Sunday, Ejikeme was accused by JAMB of forging her 2023
UTME, a claim she has denied.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, JAMB spokesman, Benjamin
Fabian, said the body has withdrawn her result and consequently barred her from
writing the examination for the next three years.
“In the meantime, the management of the Board, after
considering the weighty infraction committed by Ms Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, and in
line with its established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result and
also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years,”
the statement read.
The examination body also reassured Nigerians that its
“system was neither tampered with nor compromised as the candidate simply
falsified a copy of a result slip of a candidate named “Asimiyu Mariam
Omobolanle”, who sat the UTME in 2021 and scored 138.”
“It is also instructive to note that the candidate, in her
statement, has inadvertently revealed the rightful owner of the result she is
parading when she pointed out that the QR code on the result slip showed the
actual owner of the said result before she peddled a lie in an attempt to
obfuscate the truth,” Benjamin added.
See the full statement below:
EJIKEME JOY MMESOME: WE
SHALL CONTINUE TO SERVE WITH INTEGRITY – JAMB
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is, hereby,
restating its earlier position that the UTME result being paraded by Ejikeme
Joy Mmesoma is patently fake.
Consequently, the Board would like to reassure Nigerians
that its system was neither tampered with nor compromised as the candidate
simply falsified a copy of a result slip of a candidate named “Asimiyu Mariam
Omobolanle”, who sat the UTME in 2021 and scored 138.
It is also instructive to note that the candidate, in her
statement, has inadvertently revealed the rightful owner of the result she is
parading when she pointed out that the QR code on the result slip showed the
actual owner of the said result before she peddled a lie in an attempt to
obfuscate the truth.
To witness the unassailable position of the Board regarding
this obvious falsehood, the general public is, therefore, urged to endeavour to
scan the QR code on the result slip to see its actual owner before it was
mutilated.
It is to be noted that the QR code encapsulates the UTME
result of each candidate, hence, what is on the result sheet is nothing other
than the interpretation of the information on this QR code.
Furthermore, the public is also to note that the Board
stopped issuing Notification of Result slips after the 2021
UTME for the simple reason that candidates were falsifying them.
Consequently, the Board has been issuing actual UTME RESULT Slips (not notification
of results ) since 2022 complete with the photograph of each candidate.
Similarly, the public is also invited to ponder on the fact
that out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME, only Ms. Ejikeme Mmesoma
parades the obsolete ‘Notification of Result.’
The Board remains unperturbed by this unfortunate
development as this is not the first time such fraudulent claims have been
made. As such, Nigerians are urged to recall numerous occasions where the Board
was sued for billions of naira only for the lawyers to later apologise
profusely for their clients’ misadventure. Prominent among these is the case of
a candidate, John Chinedu Ifesinachi, who, in 2021, wrote a letter to the Board
, threatening to sue for N2b damages,
only for him and his counsel to tender unreserved apology when the candidate
eventually confessed his crime in the face of incontrovertible facts in an open
investigation observed by several national public institutions including the
Public Complaints Commission, National Human Rights Commission, Federal
Competition and Consumer Protection Council, Servicom and media houses.
This case has, therefore, being rightly handed over to
relevant security agencies for thorough investigation to unravel the
masterminds of yet another unfortunate scam.
The Board is not averse to public scrutiny and is ready for
open public session involving the
agencies listed above as well as relevant security agencies where the candidate
, parent’s guardian and her legal team will be present.
Another frightening dimension to the unfolding drama is the
unwholesome interest of some nefarious elements, who to all intents and
purposes, are determined to goad the candidate on this unproductive path as any
casual observer would observe with the obviously stage-managed video aired by
Ms. Ejikeme. The Board urges these
confusionists to have a rethink as their evil machinations would soon come to
light.
Again, the Board restates its readiness for genuine scrutiny
as this case would not be the first time and might not even be the last of such
shenanigans. At the end of the day, the truth would manifest and the Board
vindicated.
In the meantime, the management of the Board urges member of
the public to examine critically the issue at hand and avoid fake news trafficking.
In the meantime, the management of the Board, after
considering the weighty infraction committed by Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, and in
line with it’s established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result and
also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years.
Fabian Benjamin, Ph.D
Ag. Director, PAP