… Says S/East Faces More Of The Glitches
By Ikenwa Charity
Member of House of Representatives, (HoR) representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency, Hon. Amobi Ogah, has blown hot on both Chairman of the West African Examinations Council, (WAEC) Prof. Thomas Brima Rick Yormah and Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) Prof. Ishaq Oloyede asking them to resign.
This is coming on the heels of the recent glitches in the schedule of some of the papers in the 2024/2025 WASSCE examinations, as well as the irregularities in the results of the UTME.
The lawmaker expressed dismay over the manner in which some WASSCE examination JAMB examinations conducted recently, were marred by irregularities in some parts of the country, mostly the southeastern parts.
Ogah’s fume was directed at the WAEC boss during a hearing of the House committee on Education, where he in total terms, condemned what he described as incompetency on the part of both examination bodies.
The lawmaker also raised an alarm concerning the occurrences, which he said, mostly transpire in the southeast of the country, asking whether they were deliberately targeted on the region.
He said, “I said I must be here to speak for Nigerians and to defend our people.
“Sir, what has happened with your agency and JAMB which we also oversee deserve two of you to resign!
I’m not here to mince words because you have exposed Nigeria to the world in a manner that people are laughing at us.
“At a point, I was asking myself, is this a sabotage against the government? Though, I am not an APC member or is it ethnical, because I come from the southeast and greater percentage of all these things that are happening are in the southeast. So what have we done to deserve this?
“Sir, whatever you are telling Nigerians today, infact, if you were in a developed society, you should resign,” said Ogah.
Recall that recently, Portfolio Media reported how students were seen writing exams with torch lights and candle lights, as scripts did not get to them on time in some parts of the country.
On Wednesday May 21 2025, reported how several examination centres in Nigeria had candidates sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) wrote English Language paper at odd hours of the night, ranging from 6:00pm, mostly without electricity.
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Simultaneously, almost the same issues played out at other centres that were supposed to the examination at 9am, which did not commence until 11:45pm.
On Thursday May 22 2025, the committee summoned WAEC to appear on Friday to explain the reason(s) for the irregularities, after which Ambrose Okelezo, Senior Assistant Registrar and Zonal Coordinator, appeared before the committee to represent Amos Dangut, Head of the National Office, on Friday, May 23, 2025, but however, noted that his principal would not be available until Monday, May 26, 2026.
The committee members rejected the representative, insisting that Dangut must face the panel in person, as Oforji Oboku, Chairman of the committee, said the late night examination was “unpalatable and embarrassing.”
“In Jalingo, it was recorded that the examination started at about midnight. The emotional trauma these children went through can best be imagined,” he said.
“As stakeholders, we owe the public a duty of care, and we must not leave any stone unturned to prevent a recurrence.
“This committee demands to know the immediate and remote causes of this anomaly, which is why this invitation is urgent. Parents and Nigerians need to know why their children’s lives were endangered.
“It is expected that WAEC, as a body, lives up to its responsibility of organising these examinations with high standards, diligence and proper duty of care.
“There must not be an excuse, after all, monies were appropriated for the conduct of the examinations by parliament.”
Awaji-Inombek Abiante, a member of the committee, also said Okelezo is “not competent” to address the committee.
“He is not competent to speak to us because there is a myriad of issues, ranging from the fact that people in my village, where the government has never remembered, there is no house in my village that has electricity, but students had to write exams up to 1 am,” he said.
Abiante said he received several distress calls from his constituents over the midnight examination.
“You have failed. I don’t know why in a country of over 200 million Nigerians, the government cannot have competent hands to handle simple issues,” he added.
“I don’t know where they got this incompetence from. It’s either a glitch from INEC or from JAMB. Should we call this a glitch from WAEC?”
