The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has
imposed a severe penalty on Miss
Mmesoma Ejikeme, who was at the center of a
controversy regarding the highest score in this year’s Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination (UTME). The board has handed her a three-year ban and
invalidated her examination result. Dr. Benjamin Fabian, the spokesperson for
JAMB, accused Mmesoma of engaging in criminal activity by altering someone
else’s result from the 2021 UTME. He clarified that the results database remained
secure and that Mmesoma had manipulated her own result, which could be verified
by the QR code associated with her score.
However, Mmesoma took to her Facebook page to deny any
wrongdoing, claiming that she and her family were being unfairly targeted. She
questioned why it took JAMB so long to bring forth these allegations,
considering that the results had been released over two months ago. Mmesoma
further mentioned that her QR code was now displaying the name “Omotola
Afolabi” instead of her own, with conflicting scores of 138 and 338. She
argued that it was impossible for one person to have two different results from
the same examination. Mmesoma maintained her innocence, emphasizing her
academic achievements throughout her schooling, including scoring over 300 in
her common entrance examination to secondary school.
In the midst of this controversy, the Anambra State
government became suspicious of the validity of Mmesoma’s score and intervened.
The State Commissioner for Education, Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, revealed that
she had invited Mmesoma for recognition by the state government. However, upon
examining Mmesoma’s result, she noticed that it did not originate directly from
JAMB’s official printout. This raised suspicions, prompting her to contact JAMB
and confirm the authenticity of the result. The commissioner was shocked to
discover that the circulating result was not issued by JAMB, leading the state
ministry to revoke the recognition and allowing JAMB to initiate an
investigation.
Furthermore, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the founder of Innoson
Vehicle Manufacturing, had initially offered a N3 million scholarship to
Mmesoma when her alleged score of 362 went viral as the highest in the UTME.
However, following JAMB’s revelation, he stated that the scholarship funds
would be inaccessible to Mmesoma until the investigation was concluded. Chief
Chukwuma expressed disappointment at the turn of events, explaining his
excitement upon learning that a public school student had achieved the highest
score in the UTME. He had hoped to provide Mmesoma with the means to pursue a
university education and contribute positively to the country and the world.
The scholarship funds had already been deposited into a dedicated bank account,
with instructions to withdraw funds as needed for Mmesoma’s education expenses.
JAMB finally clarified that the true highest scorer, like
Mmesoma, hails from Anambra State. Umeh Nkechinyere achieved a score of 360 in
the UTME, according to the board’s announcement.
