The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it did not approve the admission of a Federal University of Technology, Akure graduate, Basola Jamiu Owodunni, whose records, according to the board, were not found in its Central Admissions Processing System.

JAMB disclosed this in a statement on Sunday signed by its Public Communication Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, following Basola’s claim on social media that the board declared his university admission invalid seven years after he commenced his studies.

Basola said he sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in 2017 and was admitted into FUTA in 2018, where he studied civil engineering and graduated in 2024 with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.41.

According to him, the issue began after his final clearance when he was informed by the student affairs office that his mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps had been rejected.

“I was advised to verify my details on the JAMB matriculation list, which indicated fake admission,” he said.

Basola added that after several failed attempts to access his JAMB portal, he visited the JAMB office and was told he was supposed to be handed over to the Department of State Services for investigation.

“After visiting the JAMB office without any positive outcome, my only option seemed to be to submit myself to DSS for questioning, hoping that this would help fast-track the resolution process,” he said.

He stated that he spent several hours in DSS and police custody and was eventually released after the intervention of a friend.

According to Basola in the video, a representative of FUTA’s admission office presented documents to the police showing that his admission was properly recommended by the university.

Basola said the police had assured him that a report would be sent to the Commissioner of Police in Abuja, but as of the time of his video, the JAMB headquarters had yet to respond.

He also said he had written letters to various officials at FUTA, including the registrar, vice-chancellor, and chairman of the admission committee, urging them to intervene.

“I feel incapacitated, and it seems my university officials are also uncertain on what step to take,” Basola said.

However, Benjamin, in the JAMB release, said: “The Board does not have the authority to propose or recommend candidates for admission. It only approves those recommended by the institutions.

“While there may be no dispute regarding his attendance at the university in question, JAMB asserts that he is not admitted by its records as he did not follow due process, and the Board lacks the power to insert him on the platform for him to be visible to the NYSC and other stakeholders.”

JAMB maintained that Basola remains “an unknown entity to the Board concerning admission,” adding that “the narrative of him being an orphan or from a disadvantaged background should not serve as emotional leverage in this matter.”

The Board also said Basola was in possession of a document that did not originate from its system and called on him to disclose how it was obtained to assist in clarifying his case.

“This serves as a reminder that candidates should only accept admission offers that are first processed through CAPS and printed accordingly,” the statement added.

JAMB, in its statement, assured it would support Basola if he was found to be in compliance with the law.

“One of our core philosophies is to protect the rights of all candidates against exploitation, and we will not hesitate to support Basola if he is found to be in compliance with the law,” the statement said. (The PUNCH)

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