JAMB: Yoruba group demands public probe, compensation for Southwest UTME candidates

Omoluabi Parapo Conservative, a Yoruba group, has reacted to the result scandal, which has been a major concern about the administration of the 2025 UTME examinations conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in recent weeks. 

While the agency has acknowledged a technical glitch affecting the release of results, the group said the issue of regional disparity in how this glitch affected candidates has not been addressed. It, however, demanded a public investigation and equitable compensation for candidates from the Southwest region.

“Reports reaching us — and independently verified through numerous testimonies — indicate that Lagos State alone accounts for nearly 80% of the candidates affected. The majority of these students are of Yoruba descent. This deeply troubling development raises the possibility of either gross negligence or a systemic failure with ethnic implications.

“As a body committed to justice, youth advancement, and the protection of Yoruba interests, Omoluabi Parapo Conservative OPC is compelled to speak on behalf of our community. The silence surrounding this issue cannot be allowed to persist,” the group said in a statement signed by Aderonke Okeleye and Paul Arowolo, chairman and secretary, respectively. 

Presenting its demands, Omoluabi Parapo Conservative called on JAMB and the Federal Ministry of Education to immediately initiate a transparent and independent investigation into the nature of this technical glitch, especially why its impact was so disproportionately concentrated in Lagos.

The group also demanded equitable compensation for candidates from the Southwest region who participated in the 2025 UTME.

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“We demand that all affected candidates in Lagos and other parts of the Southwest be automatically granted special admission consideration, including a reduction in cut-off marks where necessary. These young people must not be punished for a failure they did not cause,” the statement added.

For transparency in the handling of the situation following the admission of errors by JAMB, Omoluabi Parapo Conservative listed what the examination must publicly disclose:

“How many candidates were affected

“The states they are from

“What corrective measures are being put in place.

“The credibility of national examination bodies like JAMB rests on trust. That trust is now under threat.”

In addition, the group clarified that the demands should not be interpreted as tribal accusations but as a call for fairness and action, expressing solidarity with the affected 2025 UTME candidates.

“We are not making tribal accusations. We are making a call for fairness and action. If the future of our children can be thrown into question by a technical glitch — and then ignored — it sends a dangerous message not just to Yoruba parents, but to all Nigerians.

“Omoluabi Parapo Conservative OPC is watching.

“We demand clarity. We demand fairness. And we will not remain silent if Yoruba candidates are sidelined under any guise,” the group urged.

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