Immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has said he will return to teaching and religious activities after completing his tenure as Registrar of the board, revealing that one of his priorities is to seek God’s forgiveness after spending 10 years in public office.

He made the disclosure while handing over to his successor, Prof. Segun Aina, during an event on Friday.

Oloyede also defended the board’s decision to impose a three-year ban on a 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate, Mmesoma Ejikeme, over the manipulation of her examination result.

According to him, his years in office exposed him to situations that tested his personal values and spiritual life, leaving him with the conviction that he now needs time for reflection, repentance and renewed commitment to his faith.

“But for me, what’s next is back to my class and my religious activities. I think that is what is next for me,” Oloyede said.

He added, “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.”

Explaining why he felt the need for spiritual renewal, Oloyede said, “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.”

Looking back on his time at the examination body, Oloyede said the progress recorded under his leadership was driven by the commitment and cooperation of JAMB employees.

He also expressed confidence that the new registrar would build on the reforms implemented during 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 Aina would take JAMB “to greater heights.”

Oloyede also revisited the controversy involving Mmesoma Ejikeme, maintaining that JAMB acted appropriately when it sanctioned the candidate after discovering that her UTME score had been altered from 249 to 362. He said the board’s action was aimed solely at protecting the integrity of its examination process.

He described Mmesoma as “our daughter” and said the board acted as a responsible parent correcting a child 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 added, “Many people, unfortunately, were misdirected. But as soon as the truth was established, everybody who was supporting her accepted the truth of the matter.”

Oloyede said he regretted that many Nigerians initially accepted the false claims surrounding the case, but noted that the facts eventually prevailed and affirmed 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.” (Nigerian Tribune)