As a follow up to her previous call for an independent technical investigations into the controversy over alleged forgery of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result, former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili, has again raised more posers for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The university admissions examination body is accusing one of its candidates, Mmesoma Ejikeme, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi in Anambra State, of forging her scores in this year’s edition of the examination.
In May, Ejikeme claimed her score of 362 in the examination was the highest throughout the country .
But JAMB is disputing the claim, accusing the candidate of falsifying her result.
Apart from providing evidence to support its position, the board has already proceeded to withdraw Ejikeme’s actual results and slammed a sanction on her banning her from participating in examinations it organises for three years.
Although JAMB, through its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, has already accepted her call for a forensic probe of the entire saga, the former Minister on Wednesday raised more questions for the Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede.
In a tweet monitored through her verified Twitter handle, @obyezeks, Ezekwesili said after reaching out Oloyede on Monday over the matter, the Register later returned a call from Namibia that dropped.
In her latest tweet, Ezekwesili not only restated her earlier call for an Independent Technology Investigation into the controversy, she posed more questions for the examination body.
“I am interested in having a number of questions answered by the Exam Body to clarify the confusion in the public space on the JAMB-Mmesoma Saga.
“What really are the facts of the action that produced the Result-Slip that Mmesoma is insisting she received?
“Can the Public be availed the User-Journey of Mmesoma ?
“Is this kind of a tech-enabled double-result unique to her or experienced by any other candidates of JAMB exams?
“Is a Comprehensive Systems Check not key for JAMB in situations like this, and has such been done?
“What is the nature of interface between the JAMB system/database and the Center where she sat for her exam as well as results verification?
“Could this case not help JAMB trace any issues that can impair its systems and architecture for Exam Integrity?”, Ezekwesili asked.
The former Vice President of the World Bank, said she was glad that the public has shown huge interest in knowing the truth on this saga.
She pointed out that because examination integrity remained core to global trust of countries and their citizens by others, widely publicised cases like this should provide a learning opportunity for all, including JAMB.
“I reiterate that an Independent Technology Investigation is critical for helping us all know the truth of this case, including the role of all the parties involved, so that the right and just redressing can be made,” she noted.
“Trust in our public institutions like @JAMBHQ that record the facts of individual effort and performance is key for our country.
“Therefore for all reasonable citizens, this matter is rightly important that it be resolved appropriately,” she added.
