The youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the leading socio-cultural organization for the Igbo people, has strongly criticized the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over its decision to reschedule the UTME for candidates in the South-East and Lagos State affected by recent exam result errors.
JAMB had admitted to errors that led to low scores for some candidates and announced plans for a retake. However, in a statement released Thursday, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, led by National President Okwu Nnabuike, rejected the plan as unacceptable and unjust.
Okwu argued that the affected candidates should not be subjected to “another round of mental torture, stress, and risk,” stressing that the responsibility for the failure lies with JAMB and not the students.
He went further to demand that all impacted candidates from the South-East be awarded a score of 300, claiming that “Igbos are very brilliant people and could have made 300 and above.” Okwu described the situation as a deliberate attempt to marginalize the region and warned that if JAMB does not comply, the group would take legal action.
He also questioned who would cover the financial and security costs for the rescheduled exams in a country plagued by economic hardship and insecurity.
The youth body insists that the Registrar’s apology is not enough and called for more concrete corrective action to protect the academic future of affected students.
