Insists Result Was Fake

Innoson Boss Says It’s Unfortunate

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has insisted that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result being paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who purportedly scored the highest mark in examination, was patently faked.

According to a statement on Tuesday, July 4, 2023 by JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board, after considering the weighty infraction committed by Ejikeme, and in line with its established procedures, decided to withdraw her 2023 UTME result and also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years.

JAMB alleged that Ejikeme simply falsified a copy of a result slip of another candidate, named Asimiyu Mariam Omobolanle, who sat the UTME in 2021 and scored 138, adding that its system was neither tampered with nor compromised.

The statement read: “It is also instructive to note that the candidate, in her statement, has inadvertently revealed the rightful owner of the result she is parading when she pointed out that the QR code on the result slip showed the actual owner of the said result before she peddled a lie in an attempt to obfuscate the truth.

  “To witness the unassailable position of the Board regarding this obvious falsehood, the general public is, therefore, urged to endeavour to scan the QR code on the result slip to see its actual owner before it was mutilated.

“It is to be noted that the QR code encapsulates the UTME result of each candidate; hence what is on the result sheet is nothing other than the interpretation of the information on this QR code.

“Furthermore, the public is also to note that the Board stopped issuing Notification of Result slips after the 2021 UTME for the simple reason that candidates were falsifying them.

“Consequently, the Board has been issuing actual UTME RESULT Slips (not notification of results) since 2022, complete with the photograph of each candidate.

“Similarly, the public is also invited to ponder on the fact that out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME, only Ejikeme Mmesoma parades the obsolete ‘Notification of Result.”

JAMB stated that it remained unperturbed by this development, as it was not the first time such fraudulent claims had been made, adding: “As such, Nigerians are urged to recall numerous occasions where the Board was sued for billions of naira, only for the lawyers to later apologise profusely for their clients’ misadventure.

“Prominent among these is the case of a candidate, John Chinedu Ifesinachi, who, in 2021, wrote a letter to the Board, threatening to sue for N2billion damages, only for him and his Counsel to tender unreserved apology when the candidate eventually confessed his crime in the face of incontrovertible facts in an open investigation observed by several national public institutions, including the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC), Servicom and media houses.”

The Board said the matter had been handed over to relevant security agencies for a thorough investigation to unravel the masterminds of the scam, noting: “The Board is not averse to public scrutiny and is ready for open public session, involving the agencies listed above, as well as relevant security agencies, where the candidate, parents guardian and her legal team will be present.”

It urged Nigerians to examine critically, the issue at hand and avoid spreading fake news.

   Meanwhile, Founder of Innoson Motors, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, who earlier awarded a scholarship to Ejikeme based on the said result, has described as very unfortunate, JAMB’s revelation that Ejikeme’s 362 score in the 2023 UMTE was fake.

Chukwuma said he was earlier excited when he heard about her performance in the UMTE, especially having attended a public, and not a private school.

He explained: “When I was told that a student of a public school recorded the highest score in the JAMB examination, I sent for the principal of the school and the principal confirmed to me that it was true that the girl scored the mark.

“I said to myself that such a brilliant girl if properly educated will be beneficial to our country and the world at large, so I decided to award her scholarship so that nothing will stop her from attaining a University education.

“When awarded her the scholarship, I deposited N3million in a dedicated bank account and told the principal that the money is strictly meant for Mmesoma’s education in the university; that any time she needs to pay any fee in the school, they will let me know so that I will sign for withdrawal of money from the account. I made the arrangement so that nobody, including the girl’s parents can divert the money to another thing.”

The Nnewi-based industrialist expressed regret over the controversy surrounding her result, saying he will set up an investigation team to ascertain if it was somebody else that manipulated the result for her without her consent or she deliberately faked it to deceive people to believe that she is a brilliant student.

“The little girl I saw looked so innocent that I can’t believe that she can manipulate her score. If I find out that she deliberately faked her result, I will cancel the scholarship because I can’t encourage a criminal; such person cannot be useful to the society.

“But if I find out that she didn’t have a hand in the manipulation; that the score was given to her in error or that someone manipulated the result for her without her knowing, I will not cancel the scholarship. So, I will make inquiry to find out what actually happened.

“I didn’t know the girl before. I heard that she hails from Enugu State but studied in a public school in Anambra State, so my interest is to make sure that I support her to realise her potential in education and be useful to our nation, that is all. And to encourage other younger ones to take their education very seriously,” he stated.