Obi decries JAMB glitch, calls for reform of public institutions

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By Madu Obi

Awka- Former Anambra State governor and Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the recent technical glitches that marred the release of results by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which affected nearly 380,000 candidates.

In a statement titled “When Glitches Become a National Crisis,” Obi praised the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, for his rare show of accountability in admitting the error and expressing remorse.

He described the gesture as “commendable,” but insisted on highlighting the deeper issue, which is the fragility of Nigeria’s institutional systems.

Obi warned that the emotional and psychological toll on affected students, including reports of severe trauma and even death, underlined the critical need for reliability and integrity in public examination processes.

“Such failures are not minor mishaps. They shake the very foundations of trust in our public institutions,” he said.

He called on JAMB and similar bodies to adopt rigorous quality assurance frameworks, including continuous auditing of technical infrastructure, transparent communication, and rapid issue resolution.

According to him, “There must be no room for further glitches - not in JAMB, not in any arm of government. The cost of repeated failure is simply too high.”