Fresh controversy has emerged surrounding the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) raised suspicions over the integrity of the examination’s highest scorer, Chinedu Okeke, who secured an impressive 375 marks.
The spotlight turned intense after JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, during the board’s 2025 policy meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, revealed that there were concerns of “foul play” in Okeke’s result. This statement has triggered mixed reactions from the public and key education stakeholders.
Okeke, who hails from Anambra State and applied to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos, is now at the center of a heated debate. The board claimed it discovered that he was previously admitted to study Medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in 2024 — a revelation that sparked questions about his eligibility to sit for this year’s UTME.
However, in a twist to the controversy, education technology expert and CEO of Educare, Alex Onyia, took to social media platform X on Thursday to defend the embattled student. Onyia explained that Okeke was among several candidates affected by a known system glitch during the 2025 UTME, which forced them to reprint their exam slips and participate in a rescheduled examination.
Despite the setback, Okeke scored 375 in the repeat UTME — the highest score recorded nationwide this year. Onyia further explained that the inconsistencies flagged by JAMB stemmed from a 2021 data migration error involving the National Identification Number (NIN) platform, which had incorrectly transferred details into JAMB’s database.
According to Onyia, the discrepancies were corrected in 2021 through JAMB’s official data correction process, and Okeke’s profile has since reflected accurate and verified information.
“Chinedu filled all necessary documents correctly, and the updated information was properly transmitted to JAMB. These errors were never his fault,” Onyia clarified.
He called on JAMB to conduct a comprehensive investigation and consider issuing a public apology to Okeke for the undue scrutiny and damage to his reputation.
The case continues to draw attention as the public awaits a formal response from JAMB on the latest revelations.
