House to Probe Errors in 2025 UTME

•As Obi warns that glitches must not morph into national crisis

Chuks Okocha and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The House of Representatives has resolved to launch an investigation into the technical glitch that caused widespread failure in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

This decision was made after lawmakers adopted a motion of urgent public importance moved by Representative Adewale Adebayo at plenary on Thursday.

In a related development, the former governor of Anambra State and the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, in the last general election, Peter Obi, has warned against blame of technical glitches becoming a national crisis

Obi was reacting on the latest crisis that followed the out of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) that witnessed mass failure

The JAMB registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede had blamed the mass failure at the matriculation examination on what he described as technical glitches.

Meanwhile, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had released the results of the 2025 UTME on May 9, revealing an alarming failure rate.

Recall that an assessment by JAMB revealed a significant technical fault with more than 78% of candidates scoring below 200 out of the possible 400 points.

The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed that the responses of 379,997 candidates were compromised due to server-related issues at a press briefing held in Abuja on Wednesday

He explained that defective server updates in the Lagos and South-East zones interfered with the proper uploading of candidates’ answers during the first three days of the exams.

The fault, he noted, originated from one of the two technical service providers engaged by the board and went unnoticed before the results were released.

To remedy the problem, Oloyede announced that all affected candidates would be granted the chance to retake the UTME between May 16 and May 19, 2025.

While presenting his motion in the House, Hon. Adebayo highlighted the difficulties many candidates and their families endured, including traveling long distances to exam centers, only to be met with failure due to factors beyond their control.

He emphasized the need for a thorough probe to avoid a recurrence of such incidents.

Hon. Sada Soli from Katsina praised the JAMB Registrar for his openness in publicly acknowledging the error and issuing an apology.

He also recognized Oloyede’s contributions in enhancing the board’s revenue generation since assuming office.

However, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas stated that it would be up to the committee leading the investigation to determine whether or not the Registrar should be formally commended for his handling of the issue.

On his part, reacting to the glitch-blame by JAMB, Obi said in a statement that he watched the press conference where the JAMB registrar blamed the mass failure on what he described as technical glitches.

According to Obi, ‘’I recently watched the heartfelt press conference delivered by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, in which he acknowledged that technical glitches had affected the recently released JAMB results, impacting 379,997 candidates

‘’His open admission of fault and the expression of deep remorse stand out as a rare but commendable display of accountability in our public institutions.

‘’But it raises a very concerning issue on glitches and the grave havoc it’s creating in our country, even in critical institutions like JAMB’’, he stressed.

Obi said: ‘’While JAMB’s swift response and willingness to own up to its shortcomings are worthy of recognition, the incident has brought to light a far more troubling reality: the persistent fragility of our institutional systems.

‘’The emotional and psychological toll on students, and even parents, some of whom have reportedly suffered severe trauma, and in heartbreaking cases, even death, serves as a reminder of what is at stake.

‘’The integrity of examination processes and the reliability of public institutions are not optional; they are foundational to any nation’s progress’’, Obi stated.

Going forward, he said, ‘’JAMB and similar critical bodies must adopt comprehensive quality assurance frameworks. This includes rigorous testing and constant auditing of technical infrastructure.

“Moreover, transparent communication with candidates and stakeholders, coupled with the prompt resolution of arising issues, is essential to restoring public confidence.

‘’There must be no room for further glitches – not in JAMB, not in any arm of government. The cost of repeated failure is simply too high.”