The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dismissed reports suggesting that candidates who have already matriculated or are currently enrolled in universities are prohibited from sitting the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), describing the claim as false and misleading.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyode, clarified the issue in Port Harcourt during a monitoring visit to registration centres for the ongoing UTME exercise, shortly after attending the second matriculation ceremony of Wigwe University. He said the rumour was being deliberately spread by fraudsters seeking to deceive candidates.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there. It is completely untrue that candidates who have matriculated or are already in a university cannot take UTME,” Oloyode said.
“Those spreading this falsehood are not JAMB officials.”

According to him, some individuals have gone as far as impersonating officials of the examination body and organising press briefings in JAMB’s name. “One of the ringleaders behind this misinformation has already been arrested, including the individual who manufactured fake identity cards. They were even purporting to speak as the Registrar of JAMB.”

Explaining JAMB’s official position, Oloyode said candidates who are already undergraduates are legally allowed to sit for UTME if they wish to change their academic direction. “A student who has matriculated has the right to decide to change his course or university, or even start afresh,” he said.

He stressed, however, that such candidates must make full disclosure during registration. “What we insist on is disclosure. Our data must be accurate, but nobody can take away a candidate’s right to apply again.”

Read Also

Oloyode noted that more than 800,000 candidates secured admission in the last admission cycle, with some later opting to seek new opportunities. “If we are not careful, we could assume that 800,000 are already in school and then admit another one million without proper data reconciliation,” he said.
“That is why disclosure is important.

READ ALSO: JAMB To Commence 2026 UTME Form On January 26

“They (undergraduates) can apply and write JAMB. What you cannot do is run two undergraduate programmes at the same time.”

On examination malpractice, the registrar said incidents were declining, though not yet at a satisfactory level. “Malpractice is not increasing; it is coming down,” he said. “As candidates devise new methods, we are also deploying solutions to ensure they fail.”

He also cautioned parents against promoting unethical behaviour among their children. “Parents must encourage their children to be honest,” Oloyode said. “Some of these young people are only following the footsteps of their parents. Corruption must not be passed from one generation to another.”

Addressing concerns over JAMB’s readiness, Oloyode said challenges encountered in 2025 were due to correctable lapses. “The incidents of 2025 were a matter of negligence—things that should have been done were not done,” he said. “We have learnt our lessons.”

He dismissed claims that certain categories of candidates would be excluded from registration this year. “For instance, claims that albinos will not be registered this year are false. Those loopholes have been blocked.”

Oloyode added that JAMB currently has about 984 accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide, with plans to increase the number to roughly 1,000. He also reiterated that UTME registration would end on February 28, with no extension.