Reno Omokri, a former aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has defended the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) amid criticism over its errors, which led to many applicants protesting low scores.
The Guardian recently reported how many candidates who sat for the just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) protested low scores following the release of their results.
On Wednesday, the registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, broke down in tears and admitted the board’s negligence. He also took responsibility for the errors.
Following this, many Nigerians have criticised JAMB for not identifying the errors before releasing the results.
In a post on X, Omokri urged Nigerians to cut JAMB some slack, citing challenges faced by the board in conducting the exams.
“Do you see how challenging it is for JAMB to hold exams for only 1.5 million students annually?” he asked.
“The logistical difficulties they face, the hiccups in releasing results, the cancellation of results owing to exam malpractice, and the glitches at some centres, forcing JAMB to cancel exams at 157 centres nationwide.”
Omokri added that some of the people criticising JAMB can not manage a WhatsApp forum of five people.
“It is not going to happen. Please cut these institutions some slack,” he said.
Omokri is not the only one backing JAMB amid criticisms. The Lagos State University (LASU) has also drummed up support for the board.
Former aviation minister, Osita Chidoka, on Wednesday, commended JAMB registrar Oloyede for apologising to Nigerians for the glitches that affected the UTME results.