The National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has called for the composition of a ‘Common Committee’, to resolve the controversy over the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, result of Mmesoma Ejikeme.
Mr Osodeke spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday, as the result saga continued to generate reactions across the country.
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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, had, on Sunday, withdrawn the result of Mmesoma, alleging manipulation of her scores.
The Head, Public Affairs and Protocol, JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, in a statement, said that Miss Ejikeme claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME, but actually scored 249.
He said that the claim had attracted to her a N3m scholarship and the candidate was also set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim.
He said that the Board, following the request, revealed that she scored 249 and not 362.
Mr Benjamin said the result showing 362 that the candidate was claiming was manipulated.
He said that some of the 2023 UTME candidates were parading such fake scores in order to get undue advantage.
However, the candidate, on Monday, in a new viral video, denied manipulating her result while saying that there might have been a possible technical malfunction in the board’s system.
Miss Mmesoma insisted that what she had was an original printout from the board’s portal, with her father also insisting on her innocence.
The Board, however, after the video, reiterated that the UTME result being paraded by the candidate ”is patently fake” and went on to bar her from sitting for its examination for the next three years.
Reacting to the issue, the ASUU President said there was a need for the ‘common committee’ to unravel which party was being economical with the truth over the issue.
According to him, there is a need for a proper investigation before running into conclusions in whatever form, by members of the public, in a bid not to malign anyone.
”For me, I don’t see it as right to respond to this whole thing now that it has not clearly been defined. JAMB is claiming its own right and the candidate too is making her own claim.
“My advice to Nigerians at this moment, however, is not to be in a hurry to draw conclusions. Let us all wait for a central report.
“Like I mentioned earlier, there is the need for both the Federal Government, owner of the JAMB and the Anambra Government, the home state of the candidate, to come up with a common committee, to carry out a thorough independent investigation on the matter.
“Through this, we will be able to determine the truth, that is what we should do.
“Having said this too, JAMB should also strive to restrict itself to its core mandate or function of conducting examinations and setting benchmarks.
”The idea of it being the one conducting an examination, setting the benchmark and doing admissions too, should be looked into” the unionist stated.
