Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has called on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to urgently resolve registration problems affecting candidates for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He stressed that students should not bear the consequences of administrative shortcomings, urging the examination body to take swift action to address the challenges.
Obi spoke in a statement posted on his verified X account on Monday, after visiting the Board’s registration site in Amawbia, Anambra State.
He highlighted scenes of long queues, confusion and overcrowding as students struggled to complete the registration process.
The former presidential hopeful said similar difficulties were being reported across several parts of the country, which he linked to the recent proscription of multiple computer-based test (CBT) centres over alleged violations.
While acknowledging that JAMB may have valid reasons for sanctioning the centres, Obi urged the examination body to adopt “a more balanced and humane approach” to minimise hardship on candidates.
He suggested that centres under investigation could be allowed to operate on a limited basis under strict monitoring to prevent further infractions.
Where approvals for new centres may take time, he also recommended that previously approved centres be temporarily used to ease the pressure on state offices.
With the UTME registration deadline set for February 26, Obi warned that many candidates, including some who have travelled long distances and even spent nights away from home, risk missing the chance to register through no fault of their own.
“Students cannot be made to suffer the failings of a system to which we have all, in one way or another, contributed,” he said, urging swift and compassionate action to ensure that no young person’s academic future is jeopardised by avoidable administrative bottlenecks.
Obi’s appeal comes amid heightened scrutiny of JAMB’s handling of the UTME registration process, with public concerns rising over access to testing facilities and the impact of centre closures on candidates.
