6 states where 379997 candidates will retake 2025 UTME from May 16 (Full List)

On Wednesday, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, admitted responsibility for the mass failure that trailed during an a press briefing in Abuja.

He announced that about 379,997 candidates in the just concluded 2025 examination would retake the examination.

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Prof. Oloyede, who wept profusely, intermittently wiping his face with a handkerchief, said he took full responsibility for the negligence of its staff.

“As Registrar of JAMB, I hold myself personally responsible, including for the negligence of the service provider, and I unreservedly apologise for it and the trauma that it has subjected affected Nigerians to, directly and indirectly. Once again, we apologise and assure you that this incident represents a significant setback for the Board’s reputation.

“We remain committed to emerging stronger in our core values of transparency, fairness, and equity. It is our culture to admit error because we know that in spite of the best of our efforts, we are human, we are not perfect. The only consolation we have in this case is that it is just one of the two service providers that did not do well by uploading improperly but it was not a case of glitches nor sabotage.”

Background

JAMB had released a statistical breakdown of the 2025 UTME, where it revealed that over 1.5 million of the 1.95 million candidates who took the examination scored below 200. 

In a post on its official X on May 5, it highlighted that a total of 1,955,069 candidates sat for the examination, and of this number, a significant 1,534,654 candidates—representing 78.5 percent —scored below the 200 mark.

Comparing this year to the previous one, the performance pattern hasn’t changed much. In 2024, only a very small percentage of candidates scored above 300, and just about a quarter reached or passed the 200 mark.

On issues of exam conduct, JAMB confirmed that some candidates were involved in malpractice, and many others are under investigation. Thousands of students were absent, and some had problems with biometric verification. For those with valid issues, JAMB said it’s planning to reschedule their exams once cleared.

2025 UTME review

On Monday, the exam body ordered an immediate review of the 2025 UTME following a wave of public complaints alleging technical glitches, incomplete questions, and unusually low scores.

The Board, in a statement issued by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, acknowledged what it described as an “unusual volume of complaints” since the release of the UTME results last Friday.

It said the development had prompted it to fast-track its annual post-examination review process, which typically takes place months after the exercise.

“We are particularly concerned about the unusual complaints originating from a few states within the federation. We are currently scrutinising these complaints in detail to identify and rectify any potential technical issues,” JAMB said in the statement.

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