By Florence Ejoh
The Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to bring Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme’s alleged results falsification case to rest by testing her with another examination.
Miss Ejikeme, erstwhile student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi in Anambra, had celebrated her emergence as candidate with the highest score in the year 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB, in a statement on Sunday signed by its Spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, however, accused Miss Ejikeme of inflating her results to curry favour, adding that the result would be withdrawn as she would have to face prosecution.
Speaking with newsmen in Owerri, on Tuesday, the Financial Secretary of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing, Mazi Chinedu Arthur-Ugwa, called on the examination board to put the matter to rest by resetting the examination for Miss Ejikeme.
Arthur-Ugwa described the situation as `embarrassing’ to the candidate, JAMB, and Nigeria in general and called on the Board to immediately clear its image and that of the nation.
He added that the allegation would come with negative psychological and emotional effects on Mmesoma.
Arthu-Ugwa called on the body to “desist from causing harm” in any form or by any means on an innocent youth who had yet to be pronounced guilty by the results of ongoing investigations into the matter.
“Only another examination supervised by independent observers will bring this matter to rest and we will avail ourselves to be part of the supervision if need be,” he said.
According to him, the Board had never complained of any attempt to manipulate its website, hence the need for the board not to preempt investigations.
“Only a few years back, JAMB told us how a snake swallowed a huge sum of money in one of its offices; today we are being told that the results of an examination that should admit students into our hallowed tertiary institutions can no longer be trusted for what they are.
“JAMB must, as a matter of national importance, realise the seriousness of its role in society and stop being in the news for the wrong reasons.
“If its management can no longer hold forth, then let the Federal Government overhaul the entire board and save our country and her people from needless embarrassment’’, he said.
Miss Ejikeme has denied the allegations, insisting that she scored a total of 362 marks in the examination as against JAMB’s 249 and adding that she printed the result from the board’s portal.
