The South East caucus of Nigeria’s House of Representatives has called for the resignation of Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), as well as the cancellation of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), citing the technical failures that disrupted the exam for several candidates.

In a statement issued by the caucus leader, Igariwey Iduma Enwo, the group described the situation as a major institutional breakdown. They condemned JAMB for the system errors that negatively impacted close to 380,000 candidates, including many from the five southeastern states.

The lawmakers argued that JAMB’s handling of the crisis was highly inadequate. They pointed to a lack of effective communication, clashes with the ongoing Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), and the short notice given to students about the rescheduled exam. According to them, this mishandling has subjected students and their families to unnecessary emotional strain.

In addition to demanding the resignation of the registrar, the caucus also called for the immediate suspension of senior officials responsible for JAMB’s IT systems and logistics. They urged the board to announce a new resit date, ideally after the conclusion of the SSCE, to ensure fairness and prevent further disadvantage to affected students.

While the group acknowledged Professor Oloyede’s public acceptance of responsibility, they insisted that real accountability must extend beyond verbal apologies. They argued that his resignation is necessary to allow an independent and comprehensive review of what went wrong and to restore trust in JAMB’s credibility.