By: Chidi Yadiba, Onitsha.
An Onitsha-based human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Ben Uzuegbu, has called for total cancellation of this year’s UTME Exam over inconsistencies and manipulation of results of South East and Lagos State candidates where Igbos are heavily populated.
Chief Uzuegbu, who spoke to our correspondent in Onitsha at the weekend, stated that the exam body must have deliberately planned to frustrate South East candidates from entering the university where admitted students would have the opportunity to exhibit their talents.
According to the Senior Advocate, “what JAMB did was a deliberate action to frustrate candidates from the South East Region of the country just as INEC did during the 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria.”
He said the mistake emanated due to human error and manipulation of the entire process, adding that the entire examination should be canceled and a new date scheduled for fresh participation of all the candidates across the country.
The human rights lawyer disagreed with the fresh sitting of the South East and Lagos candidates, stating that all the candidates should have been advised to rewrite the UTME on a new date.
Chief Uzuegbu expressed reservation that setting fresh questions for only South East and Lagos candidates could give room for further manipulation and setting of tougher questions by the exam body to expect mass failure.
He lamented that what transpired during the 2023 Presidential Election had taken place in JAMB due to perceived technical glitches supposedly experienced due to human manipulation.
While expressing sadness over incidences of manipulation by national institutions against the citizens as witnessed in the 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria,Chief Uzuegbu asked, unlike INEC, JAMB has called for the resitting of candidates affected while INEC went ahead to announce results after admitting technical glitches and never called for for a fresh Presidential Election.
He said that shedding crocodile tears by JAMB Registrar, Prof.Ishaq Oloyode, was not enough, adding that if it was in a civilized society, the JAMB Registrar ought to have resigned after his exam body traumatized the candidates and parents through their action.