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UTME: JAMB Makes N400m From Correcting Errors In Candidates’ Names
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), a couple of years ago, made over N400million from candidates who requested that their names be written in other manners apart from the ones they initially inputted while filling forms to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this, said the supposed errors were intentionally made by such candidates who bought more than one form, and who hoped to present the results of the exam where they scored higher marks for admission purposes.
Oloyede stated this while delivering a lecture at the Faculty of Arts, Lagos State University LASU, Ojo, Lagos, at the weekend.
The lecture was titled “Normalising the abnormal: JAMB operations during the COVID-19 era.”
Oloyede, who assumed office in 2016, said the incident occurred during his first year in office.
“Then, the charges for change of name was N1,000. I was curious when I saw that the board raked in about N400million from that alone.
“That means about 400,000 candidates saying they did not arrange their names properly or they spelt them wrongly.
“After digging deep into the matter, we found out that some candidates bought more than one form and then use different names with the intention of presenting the result with the highest marks for admission process.
“To curb that, we subsequently introduced the system whereby candidates are the ones who input their names directly and if anybody says he makes a mistake in the spelling of his name that is his own problem,” he said.
Oloyede decried the attitude where parents were helping their children to cheat in examination, saying the normal habit of children shying away from cheating because their parents would not condone that had been thrown away.
Giving a breakdown of the recorded cases of malpractices during the conduct of UTME from 2010 to 2018, he said the year 2010 had the highest figure of 49,371.
Year 2011 had 19,824; 2012 had 7,881; 2013 recorded 12,532; 2014 had 3,037; 2015 had 2,581; 2016 had 3,462; 2017 recorded 2,512; while 2018 had 9,831 cases.
To stem the tide of malpractices, he said the board introduced monitoring and remote testing of CBT centres’ network, biometric capturing of 10 fingers of candidates, embossment of photograph on all documents, among others.
On the comparative performance of candidates in the last four years, Oloyede said it had been on downward movement.
In 2018, out of 1,607,743 candidates that wrote the UTME, 25.82per cent scored 200 marks and above, while in 2019, when 1,817,306 wrote it, 22.97per cent were in that category, while in 2020 that had 1,949,692 candidates, only 20.76per cent scored that high and in 2021 with 1,312,992 candidates only 12.84per cent scored 200 marks and above.
The trend continued in other categories and in the category of those who scored 140 marks and above, 96.96 per cent in 2018, 90.92per cent in 2019, 91.57per cent in 2020 and 73.43per cent in 2021.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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