Education

JAMB Cancels UTME Registrations Of 817 Candidates Over Impersonation

Published

2 years ago

February 8, 2023

Editor

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board said it cancelled the registrations of no fewer than 817 candidates that registered to sit the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations and Direct Entry examinations.

The examination body said it made the decision owing to the discovery of certain infractions such as use of strange biometrics during the registration process.

The registrar of the examination body, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who cited some of the affected cases in a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday morning, stated that some registration officers in the affected 178 Computer-Based Test centres added their fingerprints to complete the registration process for the candidates.

The former Vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, however, mentioned that the 817 affected students would be given another opportunity to re-register for the exam with the centres bearing the cost.

He said: “For the students who allowed other people to add their fingers to their registration procedure, we found that some of them were only naive, because you will hear them saying my finger was hot, and the man added his own. And you allowed him to add his own?

“Some of them did it deliberately for impersonation, but we can’t identify those who are genuine from those who are not genuine. We will cancel all of them, all the registrations, and we will ask them to re-register.

“The centres involved, we have just met with them, and they all confessed, nobody is disputing it, even students that were telling lies, they know we have the technology that won’t allow any lie to be accommodated.

“On their own (the CBT centres owners), they suggested the solution. We will cancel the registrations of those people concerned and we will send a message to them to go back to the very centres where they were registered and the CBT centres will pay to the board the cost of registration of the candidates.”

The JAMB boss revealed that allowing a registration officer or any other person to add his or her finger during capturing of a candidate’s biometric data could bring about impersonation in the exam as well as give such “strange” persons access to change vital details including exam centre.

“By adding his or her finger to your registration, it means he or her can change all your particulars when you are not there. You know your finger is what is used to identify you. The person can change your examination centre like say from Lagos to Ibadan, and on the exam day you won’t be able to write the exam.

“That is why we put in place a device that will throw up any strange finger that is not yours and that is why we were able to identify them.”

Speaking on the recent suspension of five CBT centres for selling UTME registration pins above the stipulated price, the JAMB boss said four of the five have been let off the hook.

He, however, said the excess payment would be refunded by the affected CBT centres to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for necessary action.

“Those who sold our pins to candidates beyond the approved limit, we have decided to lift the ban on four of the five after they have explained, and they have given us an apology and they have explained what happened.

“One did not come so we are not lifting the suspension. The four of them, one of them that came, we are still doing investigation (on the centre).

“As for those who overcharged, all the candidates who overpaid we are compiling the list. The overpayment will be paid by those vendors and those institutions to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

“They will pay the money to them and the law will determine what to do because I don’t believe the money should go back to the candidates because if you can pay N3,000, N5,000, N6,000 above the cost, you do not deserve any sympathy. I believe the money should not go back to them because we told them not to pay but now that they have paid we will recover the money and pay it to the appropriate government agency because if we retain it, they will say JAMB is looking for money. We are not looking for dirty money, we will therefore return the money to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, so as decided by the law, they can even take it to a charity home and give it to those in need.”

Earlier during a virtual meeting with the candidates who had others donating their fingers (fingerprints) to them during their registration process, many of the students admitted to the act while others claimed ignorance.

Education

HOMEF Decries Alarming Rate Of Malnutrition, Food Insecurity

Published

4 months ago

March 1, 2025

Editor

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has decried the alarming rate of malnutrition and food insecurity in nations of the world, lamenting that Nigeria tops the list.

According to HOMEF, rather than directly addressing the challenges of malnutrition and food insecurity, the government of Nigeria is focused on the deployment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a solution to food insecurity.

INFO DAILY reports that HOMEF’s research of 2023 reveals that Abuja tops the list of GM food with 16 products followed by Lagos with 12 products while 11 products were captured in Port Harcourt on the chart.

Benin City and Warri followed on the chart with 9 and 8 products respectively while Yenagoa, Uyo and Enugu had 4, 3 and 1 products in their respective markets during the research.

Speaking at the organization’s Sustain- Ability Academy on Food Justice and Restoration which was held at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, the Executive Director, HOMEF, Tasked Nigerians to challenge “current narratives in favour of industrial agriculture.”

Speaking on the theme: Food Justice and Restoration, Bassey, said the
current narratives of hunger in Nigeria and Africa require urgent in-depth interrogation, just as he attributed hunger in Nigeria to the persistent violence in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY).

Bassey added: “According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, up 33.1 million Nigerians are projected to be food insecure in 2025.

“This projection is based on a number of factors namely: economic hardship, coupled with record high inflation (which reached 40.9 per cent for food in June 2024), climate change impacts, particularly foods, which directly impact the rising costs of both food and essential non-food commodities and services.

He continued: “Persistent violence in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) hinders food availability and access. Additionally, armed banditry and kidnapping in the Northwest and farmer-harder conflict in the North-Central states, including Zamfara, Kastina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Niger, exacerbate the prevailing economic struggles,” he stressed.

The Executive Director, therefore, charged the Nigerian government to “protect the rights of people to safe food and a healthy environment irrespective of their social or financial status.”

“We all contribute by making healthy food choices, supporting agroecological initiatives, and advocating for policy reforms,” he added.

Earlier, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, UNIBEN, Prof. Chris Omokaro, said a Professor of Agricultural Economic it pleases him that the programme focuses on GMO, and urged Nigerians to interrogate if GMOs follow the natural principle of breeding.

Education

18-year-old UNILORIN Student Becomes Chartered a Accountant

Published

6 months ago

January 18, 2025

Editor

18 year-old student of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Department of Accounting, Miss Faith Aduragbemi Olabisi, has qualified as a chartered accountant.

According to the bulletin of the university, the feat was described as a rare display of the superlative service delivery obtainable at the University of Ilorin.

The statement said that Miss Olabisi is one of the several candidates who were successful in the November 2024 professional examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

Speaking on the development, Miss Olabisi said that it had always been her dream to become a chartered accountant as soon as possible.

Miss Olabisi appreciated the support of her lecturers and mother who provided her with the necessary motivation needed to attain the feat at her age.

Also speaking on this rare feat, the acting head of the Department of Accounting, Dr Segun Abogun, said that he was very impressed with what he called “Miss Olabisi’s Outstanding Achievement.”

He explained that Miss Olabisi is one of the several students of the department that passed the ICAN professional examinations last year.

Dr Abogun encouraged Miss Olabisi and her colleagues to continue to serve as role models to others for the department to produce more chartered accountants among them, even before their graduation from the institution.

Reacting to the development, the vice chancellor, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, expressed delight with the laudable achievement of the Unilorite.

In a statement issued by the institution’s director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, the VC, who said that he was not surprised with the performance of Miss Olabisi, said that the institution had always produced record-breaking professionals among its students, staff, and alumni.

The vice chancellor, who is also the secretary-general of the association of West African Universities (AWAU), explained that it is performances like that of Miss Olabisi and the enduring peace within the university that had made it the nation’s most sought-after.

Professor Egbewole congratulated Miss Olabisi for making herself, family, institution and womanhood proud as he encouraged her to continue to give her best to her studies and to remain a shining role-model not only in learning but also in character.

The VC also encouraged other students of the institution to emulate Miss Olabisi for them to also succeed in their academic and professional endeavours

Education

2025 UTME/DE Registration Yet To Begin, Says JAMB

Published

6 months ago

January 15, 2025

Editor

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that registration for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) has not yet begun.

In a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday, JAMB assured candidates that the registration process details would be announced soon.

The post reads: “Attention prospective 2025 UTME/DE candidates! Kindly note that registration has not commenced. However, details on the exercise would be announced soon.

“You can get your NIN ahead and a phone number that has not been previously used to register on our platform to generate your profile code prior the time.”

In another development, JAMB revealed that The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba will be the recommended text for the 2025 UTME Use of English examination.

“Attention prospective 2025 UTME candidates! This is to inform you that The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba has been approved as the reading text for the Use of English,” JAMB said.

“Details on the UTME/DE registration shall be released shortly. Kindly be on the lookout for updates.”