I Need Some Time To Go Back And Beg God, Says Outgoing JAMB Registrar Oloyede

 

Reflecting on his years in office, he acknowledged that serving in government came with difficult decisions that required personal and spiritual reflection.

The outgoing Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has said he will return to academia and devote more time to religious activities after completing his 10-year tenure, saying the demands of public service have taken both a professional and spiritual toll on him.

Oloyede made the remarks during the official handover ceremony to the new JAMB Registrar, Prof. Segun Aina, where he also defended the board’s controversial decision to sanction former Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate, Mmesoma Ejikeme, insisting he had no regrets over the action.

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin said he was looking forward to returning to the classroom after a decade in public office.

“But for me, what’s next is back to my class and my religious activities. I think that is what is next for me,” Oloyede said.

Reflecting on his years in office, he acknowledged that serving in government came with difficult decisions that required personal and spiritual reflection.

“You cannot serve in these past 10 years without losing one spiritual quality or the other, so I need to go back and we are in a very dangerous system that in one way or the other you will have violated your own principles yourself,” he said.

Explaining why he intends to focus on his faith after leaving office, Oloyede added, “You need some time to go and beg God for what was done. And you have to accept the responsibility because for each and every one of them.”

He credited the successes recorded by JAMB during his tenure to the commitment of the board’s staff and expressed confidence that his successor would sustain the reforms introduced over the past decade.

“The achievements recorded during my time in office were made possible by the collective commitment and hard work of the Board’s workforce,” he said.

He added that he was optimistic Prof. Aina would take the examination body “to greater heights.”

Oloyede also revisited one of the most controversial moments of his tenure—the 2023 sanction imposed on UTME candidate Mmesoma Ejikeme after JAMB accused her of manipulating her examination result

The controversy erupted after Mmesoma claimed she scored 362 in the 2023 UTME, while JAMB maintained that her authentic score was 249 and alleged that the higher score was generated using a falsified result slip.

The case generated nationwide debate before subsequent investigations upheld JAMB’s position.

Speaking on the incident, Oloyede said the board acted to protect the integrity of its examination system and not out of malice.

Describing Mmesoma as “our daughter,” he said JAMB approached the matter like a responsible parent correcting a child.

“No hard feelings. If there is any regret, it is that she did what she did because she is part of us. We did what we should do and, of course, we regret that she did what she did,” he said.

According to him, many Nigerians initially accepted the student’s version of events before the facts emerged.

“Many people, unfortunately, were misdirected. But as soon as the truth was established, everybody who was supporting her accepted the truth of the matter.”

Oloyede said while he regretted that some members of the public believed the false narrative, he was pleased that JAMB was ultimately vindicated.

“Every parent wants to believe his or her child. When you see them, you want to believe that they are too innocent to manufacture such things. So, I mostly regret that some people supported that narrative, but I am happy that at the end of the day, we have been vindicated.”

He stressed that the three-year ban imposed on the candidate was intended to deter examination malpractice rather than punish her vindictively.

“Of course, that does not remove the punishment she had to serve. It’s not out of wickedness, but in order to serve as a deterrent.

“Once we do not do things on the basis of hatred, and the office requires that we do certain things and we do them, there should be no regret. There should be no hard feelings. So, no regrets.”

In his acceptance speech, the new JAMB Registrar, Prof. Aina pledged to uphold the board’s reputation for transparency and integrity, warning that examination malpractice would continue to be met with technology-driven countermeasure.

SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS