After a decade leading the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), outgoing Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede says he is returning to the classroom and religious activities, admitting that the demands of public service have left him in need of spiritual reflection.
Speaking during the handover ceremony to the new JAMB Registrar, Prof. Aina, Oloyede said his next chapter would focus on academia and strengthening his commitment to faith after completing his 10-year tenure.
“But for me, what’s next is back to my class and my religious activities. I think that is what is next for me,” he said.
Reflecting on his years in public office, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin said leadership often required difficult decisions that could come with personal and spiritual consequences.
“You cannot serve in these past 10 years without losing one spiritual quality or the other, so I need to go back and we are in a very dangerous system that in one way or the other you will have violated your own principles yourself,” Oloyede said.
Explaining his decision to seek spiritual renewal, he added, “You need some time to go and beg God for what was done. And you have to accept the responsibility because for each and every one of them.”
Oloyede attributed the achievements recorded by JAMB during his tenure to the dedication of the board’s workforce, expressing confidence that his successor would build on the reforms introduced over the past decade.
“The achievements recorded during my time in office were made possible by the collective commitment and hard work of the Board’s workforce,” he said, adding that he was confident Prof. Aina would take JAMB “to greater heights.”
The outgoing registrar also revisited the controversial 2023 case involving former Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate Mmesoma Ejikeme, defending JAMB’s decision to impose a three-year ban after investigations established that she manipulated her examination result.
Describing Mmesoma as “our daughter,” Oloyede said the board acted to protect the credibility of its examination process rather than out of malice.
“No hard feelings. If there is any regret, it is that she did what she did because she is part of us. We did what we should do and, of course, we regret that she did what she did,” he said.
He noted that although many Nigerians initially believed the claims surrounding the controversy, subsequent investigations vindicated the board’s position.
“Every parent wants to believe his or her child. When you see them, you want to believe that they are too innocent to manufacture such things. So, I mostly regret that some people supported that narrative, but I am happy that at the end of the day, we have been vindicated,” he said.
Oloyede stressed that the sanction imposed on the candidate was aimed at deterring examination malpractice and protecting public confidence in JAMB’s processes.
“Once we do not do things on the basis of hatred, and the office requires that we do certain things and we do them, there should be no regret. There should be no hard feelings. So, no regrets,” he said.
In his acceptance remarks, the new registrar, Prof. Aina, pledged to uphold JAMB’s reputation for integrity and transparency, warning candidates against attempting to manipulate the board’s technology-driven examination system.
“The integrity of JAMB is not negotiable. Those harbouring thoughts of outsmarting the system should abandon such plans because our technology-driven processes will continue to frustrate every form of malpractice and fraud,” Aina said.
He added that his immediate priority would be to study the board’s existing operations before introducing reforms.
“My immediate priority will be to listen, observe and thoroughly interrogate existing systems before implementing changes,” he said.
Appointed JAMB Registrar in 2016, Oloyede oversaw sweeping reforms that strengthened the board’s computer-based testing system, improved transparency in admissions and significantly increased remittances to the Federal Government. His administration also introduced technological innovations aimed at curbing impersonation, result falsification and other forms of examination malpractice.
One of the defining moments of his tenure came in 2023 when JAMB sanctioned Mmesoma Ejikeme after investigations established that she had manipulated her UTME result. Although the decision initially sparked widespread public debate, subsequent investigations later vindicated the board’s position and reinforced its commitment to protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s tertiary admissions process.
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