From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The South East Senate Caucus has expressed deep dissatisfaction over what it described as a “curious and highly suspicious” technical glitch that disrupted the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), particularly affecting all centres across the South East and some in Lagos.
In a strongly worded statement issued Saturday by the Chairman of the caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the lawmakers raised concerns about what they suggested could be a deliberate attempt to undermine the future of children from the region.
“It would be disheartening—and we hope not to contemplate such a conspiracy theory—that there is a narrow agenda being pursued to deliberately shortchange and harm the future of our children,” Abaribe stated.
The senators acknowledged the efforts made to address the situation, especially the rescheduling of the disrupted exams, and welcomed the public apology tendered by JAMB and its Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede. However, they warned that such disruptions must never happen again.
“The so-called glitch, as curious and suspicious as it were, is enough to erode confidence and dangerously lower national pride among the future generation,” Abaribe said. “That the glitch happened in the whole of the South East raises pertinent questions that must be answered by JAMB to assuage the growing frustrations and fears among our people.”
The lawmakers expressed concern that the apology and show of regret from JAMB may only be a smokescreen to cover deeper, potentially discriminatory intentions against the South East. They cautioned against injecting “hateful politics and narrow parochial considerations” into educational policy and its implementation.
Stressing the centrality of education to national development, the caucus declared that every Nigerian child deserves equal opportunity and must not suffer due to systemic failures or targeted negligence.
The South East Senate Caucus said it remains vigilant and under pressure from constituents, demanding an unequivocal assurance from JAMB and relevant educational authorities that such a “scandalous glitch” will not be repeated in future examinations.