Mr Festus Keyamo, former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, has responded to the European Union’s (EU) final report on the 2023 elections, which indicted him for allegedly engaging in fake news.

In its report, the EU stated that Keyamo, along with former Aviation Minister Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, peddled false information during the 2023 election campaigns, as both were spokesmen for the then-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who is now President.

In response to the report, Keyamo chastised the Union for delving into the investigation, claiming that it was invited for the sole purpose of observing and reporting, while also raising other concerns in criticising the EU.

An Assistant Director in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Mr. Yildiyel Musa Takat, and an Administration Officer at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Mr. Nankpat Dukbong have been arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), over allegations of fraud, employment scam and conspiracy.

This was contained in a statement made available to journalists by ICPC spokesperson Mrs. Azuka Ogugua on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the duo were brought before Honourable Justice O. A. Musa of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court 7, sitting in Jabi, Abuja, via a Charge No: CR/151/2022.

It said, “in a 6-count charge, ICPC accused the defendants of conspiracy, abuse of office and defrauding unsuspecting job seekers to the tune of Two Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira (N2,900,000).

“The Commission led by its counsel, told the Court of how the accused persons solicited and collected on separate occasions the sums of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000); and Two Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira (N2,400,000) from their victims in the guise of securing employment for them in the Federal Civil Service.”

The statement further noted that While the first defendant (Takat) was charged on counts 1, 2, 4, and 5, the second defendant (Dukbong) was charged on count 1, 3, 4, and 6 respectively.

“Their actions are contrary to Section 26 and punishable under Section 18 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

“The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to them,” it noted.

“In two separate “Motions on Notice” and pursuant to sections 34 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended as well as sections 162 and 163 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, both counsel to the first and second defendants moved for bail application on behalf of their clients.

“They both sought the relief of the Court to use its discretionary powers to grant the bail in the most liberal of conditions.”

“In a swift reaction, counsel to ICPC in a counter motion, opposed the prayers sought by counsel to first defendant, saying that he had been evading trial, describing him as a serial offender who had multiple court cases against him, and therefore urged the Court to deny him the prayers sought by his lawyer, while the bail application of the second defendant was not opposed.

“The trial judge after listening to both parties admitted the first accused person to bail in the sum of Four Million Naira (N4,000,000) and a surety in like sum, who must be a civil servant on grade level 08 and above. The surety was also ordered to surrender his letter of first appointment and last promotion as well as identity card.

“The second accused person was also granted bail in the sum Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) and a surety in like sum.

“Justice Musa also ruled that the sureties must show evidence of residency within the FCT with clear address and snap themselves in front of their residents and submit to court. He equally asked them to undertake a bond to compel the defendants to attend their trial, failure of which will not only result to the revocation of the bails, but the prosecution of the sureties.

“The matter was adjourned to the 19th of October 2023 for hearing,” the statement reads.

Kwara State government has announced the reversal of the directive reducing workdays from five to three for civil servants.

The government on June 5, 2023, through a letter from the state’s Head of Service, Mrs Susan Oluwole, reduced the work days from five to three in the state.

She said the decision was to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal by the federal government on the civil servants in the state.

However, in a letter to the heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Mrs Oluwole reversed the decision.

She said the new directive was to allow the federal government and the organised labour to work out modalities on more efficient interventions to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.

The letter, signed by Mr. Okedare Adeyinka for the Head of Service, said that the intervention would be unveiled very soon.

“I am directed to inform all heads of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) that the reduced number of working days have been reversed; hence, all categories of workers are to observe the normal five working days per week, with effect from July 10, 2023.

“Workers not covered in the initial workday reduction, which lasted a few days, will have stipends given to them as a show of appreciation,” the statement added.

Workers that were exempted initially were teachers, health practitioners and other categories of workers providing essential services in the state.

Former senate president Anyim Pius Anyim has reveal why he visited President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation under President Goodluck Jonathan, met with Tinubu alongside former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, Olisah Metuh.

In 2022, Anyim declared his intention to run for President on the PDP’s ticket.

He was later suspended by the in March 2023 for alleged anti-party activity when he supported the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru.

Meanwhile, Metuh publicly resigned from the PDP and partisan politics in October 2022, he cited medical grounds for his decision.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Senator Anyim said they had some frank and sincere discussion with Tinubu.

He said aside from the heart-to-heart conversations, Wednesday’s visit was mainly to encourage and congratulate the President on his inauguration and the successes he has so far recorded.

“It was a great honour to pay courtesy to the President and congratulate him, first and foremost, for his successful inauguration as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and also to encourage and congratulate him for the bold he has taken so far.

“We had a whole lot of heart-to-heart discussions, but primarily, it’s to congratulate him,” Anyim said.

Also speaking, the former PDP spokesman, Metuh, said although the country had bled for the past eight years, he is confident that the Tinubu administration will achieve national unity.

He said “We came to see the President, to commend him for his very good takeoff; the policies he has brought, his inclusiveness, and most of all to canvass for the idea of participatory governance, participatory democracy.”

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has issued a fresh two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government over the implementation of a 200% increment in the salary structure of its members, amongst other demands.

The resident doctors reached the resolution on Wednesday at a virtual Extraordinary National Executive Council Meeting (E-NEC) to appraise the level of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the government on May 19, 2023, following a five-day warning strike embarked upon by the Association on May 17, 2023.

The communique was co-signed by NARD President, Orji Innocent, Secretary General, Chikezie Kelechi; and Publicity and Social Secretary, Umar Musa.

NARD called on the government to without further delay pay all outstanding arrears owed its members including the hazard allowance and the skipping arrears from 2014 to 2016, and the arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum wage.

The doctors said there is no justifiable reason for the government to keep owing their arrears and allowances.

“We demand the immediate release and the implementation of the guidelines on one-for-one replacement of clinical staff to cushion the effect of the massive manpower shortage in our various hospitals nationwide,” the communique partly read.

“NEC calls on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to discontinue the downgrading of the membership certificate issued by the West African Postgraduate Medical and Surgical colleges as this is not obtainable in other parts of West Africa where these same certificates are issued.

“NEC demands the immediate payment of all Salary Arrears, implementation of the CONMESS salary structure and new Hazard Allowance and domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act and payment of the Medical Residency Training Fund to our members in the State Tertiary Health Institutions nationwide.

“NEC hereby wishes to further extend her already expired ultimatum issued to the government by 2 weeks with effect from today 5th July 2023.

“The NEC of NARD insist on the immediate implementation of a minimum of 200% increment in the CONMESS (Consolidated Medical Salary Structure) salary structure and upward review of the associated allowances as requested in her previous letters on the subject matter since the current economic realities in the country cannot justify the continued payment of CONMESS as it is at the moment or any increment below the 200% as demanded.

“For purposes of emphasis, at the expiration of this further extended ultimatum by 19th of July 2023, if all these demands are not met, we cannot guarantee industrial harmony in the Health Sector nationwide.”

Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has placed his newly sworn-in commissioners on a six-month probation period.

On Wednesday, Governor Yusuf addressed the commissioners and other members of the state executive council, saying their appointments were based on merit, professionalism, previous performance, and competency.

He urged them to be dedicated to their responsibilities.

Let me urge you all to sustain the tempo of loyalty, dedication, commitment to duty and be honest in the discharge of your duties, be honest, accountable, and mindful of the confidence reposed in us by the good people on us.

I am reminding you that your appointment is on probation of six months period afterwhich a monitoring and evaluation team under my headship will be monitoring the performances of the ministries and those who performed well will be appreciated and those who under performed will be pulled out.

The Governor charged the commissioners with working as one family for the people of Kano, believing that they were the best team to rescue the state from the “mismanagement” of the previous administration and deliver the dividends of democracy to the state’s nooks and crannies.

APC Govs Wade Into Adamu, NASS Presiding Officers’ Feud
Governor Abba took advantage of the occasion to thank the people of the state and assure them that as the journey begins, they will soon begin to see positive changes that will directly affect their lives.

The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) says forensic analysis has confirmed that the dollar videos of ex-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje were not doctored.

In 2017, Daily Nigerian, an online publication, had released some videos of Ganduje allegedly collecting kickbacks from contractors.

But speaking at ‘A One Day Public Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Crusade in Kano’, on Wednesday, Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, Chairman of the agency, said the authenticity of the videos had been confirmed.

He said since the release of the footages, people have been challenging the commission under him to prove the innocence or otherwise of the former governor in the matter.

He added that his commission commenced investigation in 2018 but could not go far because Ganduje, who was governor at the time, had immunity.

I was listening to a radio phone-in programme last week when a final year student of a state-owned tertiary institution called to say there was no way he would be able to complete his degree programme going by the tuition fees just announced by his university. Other callers soon joined the programme to paint scary pictures of their uncertain future. From education to health institutions and markets, Nigerians are groaning under an astronomical hike in prices of goods and services. While these challenges have been with us for some years, they have now been heightened by President Bola Tinubu’s decision to halt fuel subsidy payment and merge the foreign exchange rates.  

For those of us who have always advocated that Nigeria should stop “borrowing from tomorrow”, it is difficult to fault the president for the tough decisions he has taken in his first one month in office. To be honest, Tinubu had little room to maneuver given glaring threats of fiscal collapse since we were borrowing to pay for the subsidy anyway. But leaders who preach the virtue of sacrifice cannot live like emperor or revel in ostentatious lifestyle at a time millions of Nigerians are going through harrowing times. That is the meaning of the outrage that greeted the recent long convoys of both the president and that of the senate president, Godswill Akpabio.   

I have heard the defence by supporters of the president that what was posted on social media (incidentally by a bragging Tinubu supporter) included the convoys of many governors and other top government functionaries. That may well be true, but they miss the point. What was on display is a metaphor for profligacy and abuse of public resources that have come to define officialdom in Nigeria. The real issue is whether a government that preaches sacrifice can continue with such indulgence, especially at a period when many people are going through hard times. Besides, most Nigerians are already aware that the length of convoys has become a source of power projection in the country. Yet, it is nothing but a symbol of waste that we must do away with.  

Since the advent of the current democratic dispensation in 1999, Nigerians have been concerned about the cost of maintaining those who ordinarily are elected to serve the rest of us. On their website, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) opens with a statement on ‘Reducing cost of governance’, seeking a review of the day-to-day government expenditure in the country. “The cost of running government in Nigeria has been on the increase over the years to the extent that stakeholders are worried about the problem and are seeking ways to address the anomaly”, the RMAFC stated. Curiously, it is the same commission that recently proposed a 114 per cent increase in the remunerations of the president, vice president, governors, lawmakers etc at this most difficult period for the ordinary citizens.  

Nothing perhaps demonstrates the perplexing problem of high cost of governance in Nigeria better than the 2012 Oronsaye Report. The report identified 541 federal government agencies, 50 of which have no enabling laws, and made recommendations about scrapping some and merging several others. Both President Goodluck Jonathan who established the committee and President Muhammadu Buhari who inherited the report made a song and dance about its implementation. At the end, according to the latest infographic from BudgIT, the number of agencies in the federal government budget for this year is 929. So, rather than a reduction of these cost centres, we now have almost double the number of the federal quangos that we had eleven years ago! 

Meanwhile, in a report published by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 24 hours before he was sworn in for his first term in 2015, many Nigerians had expressed hope that Buhari would make reducing cost of governance a priority of his administration. “In most parts of the world, politicians do not go around with the long motorcade and number of aides they go around with in Nigeria,” Pat Utomi, a respected professor of political economy, had told NAN at the time. “Governance should not be about moving in motorcades, living in mansions, and not stopping at traffic lights.’’ The hope that Buhari would change the narrative turned out to be misplaced, though the real challenge now is in the states where governors must begin to embrace prudence and accountability even if, like the former Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, they have trillions of “intellectual money,” with which to dispense patronage.  

To the extent that the decision to end fuel subsidy regime and merge the exchange rates is not cost-free, government at all levels cannot afford to continue with the template of the past. On Tuesday, the Bank of America (BoA) sub-Sahara Africa Economist, Tatonga Rusike projected that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may need to increase interest rates by at least 700 basis points before the end of the year to tackle soaring inflation occasioned by these two policies. He warned that if this decision was not taken, the much-sought foreign investment might be a mirage. The implication of Rusike’s intervention is that we are already in a Catch-22 situation.  

It is therefore important for President Tinubu and his handlers not to misread the public mood. That he has used his honeymoon period to strike when the iron is still hot on two critical policy issues may have earned him momentary applause on decisive leadership. But there are no predictable outcomes for those choices in an environment where several variables are beyond his control. So, there is a need for caution. Not hubris! Times like this indeed call for a measure of sobriety and there are lessons we can learn from what is happening in other countries. France provides a ready example.   

Even when the unfortunate death of a teenager in the hands of a trigger-happy policeman may have ignited the violence, the people on the streets are those who feel that the system has been so rigged against them that their future is not secured. That was the point made so poignantly last Sunday by the editorial of ‘The Observer’, a British newspaper. “Poverty, ghetto-like suburban estates, joblessness, limited life chances and social alienation are problems facing younger people in many developed countries, not least Britain,” The Observer wrote, highlighting why leaders in the United Kingdom must pay attention to the underlining issues in Paris. “What’s happening in France is a warning to all.” If a society like France could experience such convulsion, then authorities in our country should be aware of the danger of what could happen when Nigerians feel pushed to the wall.   

For years, many have called for a review of the perks associated with public office in our country. For instance, it is only in Nigeria that public officials travel abroad in first and business class compartments and within the country, in private jets. In August 2016, I was invited by the Chinese government to speak at the China-Africa Public Diplomacy Forum in Tanzania. When the conference ended, I was at the Dares Salaam airport waiting to board the Ethiopia Airlines flight back to Abuja enroute Addis Ababa when the representative of President Xi Jingpin who declared the session open was escorted in by the Chinese ambassador and Tanzanian officials. On the flight, he was in the same economy class compartment with the rest of us. The message sent by the Chinese authority, which we are yet to imbibe in Nigeria, is that serving the public is about sacrifice.   

While human nature predisposes people to act mostly in pursuit of self-interest, the essence of government is to subordinate the personal convenience of individuals to the imperatives of the common good. Yet, the crisis of present-day Nigeria is that there is little in our code of public conduct that encourages moderation or sacrifice. Rolling back conveniences, no matter how little, are usually some of the first steps public officials take when their country battle economic downturns. Beyond the fact that reduction in official vehicles will help save fuel and maintenance cost in our present circumstance, it will also send the right signal to the people that public officers are sensitive to their plight.   

That is a timely message for the president and all the 36 governors.  

Waking Up, Taking Responsibility  

With the theme, ‘Wake Up and Take Responsibility’, Mr Tony Elumelu, CFR, is being joined on 19th August by two British women,Ms Dorota Oakley Matuszyk and Ms Juliet Lamin as speakers for the 2023 edition of the teens career conference of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP). Elumelu of course needs no further introduction. From banking to oil and gas and the hospitality sector, he maintains a portfolio of investments across several industries on the continent. Chairman of both Heirs Holdings and the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Elumelu also sits on many public and social sector boards, including the World Economic Forum Community of Chairmen and the Global Leadership Council of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited.   

Ms Matuszyk is an educator with sound training experience across many schools in the United Kingdom. In one of her numerous works in Africa, Matuszyk ran a pioneering online programme for teachers in Guinea Bissau and supervised their research on issues such as early marriage, teenage pregnancy, gender inequality and impact of disability and poverty on education. She has also undertaken sizeable fundraising to fight hunger, unemployment, and lack of education, mainly in Guinea Bissau, Uganda, Congo, Yemen, Syria, Ukraine, and Poland.       

Ms Lamin is also an educator, community activist, youth mentor and licensed grief recovery specialist, who has worked with adults and young people with different complex needs across the United Kingdom. Following the death of her only son, Phillip Lamin in 2013, she founded a youth charity organization, PL9, where young people from several communities come together to counteract different challenges and be mentored to become leaders. The PL9 youths have collaborated with 118 academic institutions in the United Kingdom to organise youth talent shows, fundraise for cardiac risk and help provide defibrillators in sports centres and churches. Those achievements have earned Lamin several honours, including the outstanding achievement award from the London Borough of Bexley.       

Like previous editions, this year’s conference will bring together teenagers from Abuja and its environs to listen to expert advice on career choices in today’s dynamic and challenging world. In choosing ‘Wake Up and Take Responsibility’ as theme for the 2023 edition, our Pastor, Evaristus Azodoh (a consultant urologist and retired army colonel) believes that when young people make the right choices, they can also appropriate the credit for their achievements. Conversely, if they feel beholden to the actions or opinions of others, they inevitably live in the shadow of other people’s expectations, and this can result in frustration, bitterness, and failure.  

For details about the conference and registration, interested teenagers should visit www.rccgteapteens.ng

• You can follow me on my Twitter handle, @Olusegunverdict and on www.olusegunadeniyi.com   

By all means, she’s not the only child that has cheated or told a lie, but Mesomma Ejikeme, the 19-year-old girl from Anambra State who fraudulently changed her UTME score from 249 to 362, and later claimed that she is ‘’not capable of committing such a fraud’’ has gripped national attention and provided us another opportunity to take another look at the problem of cybercrime. She beguiled many with her innocence, coherence and articulate responses to questions on TV. The fact that she attended a public school and scored so high added to the enigma and enchanted the nation. A people that wallows in misery will quickly lap up whatever appears enchanting. But I wasn’t convinced. After listening to JAMB, the examination body, it was clear to me that the young girl was misguided.

 It is just as well that she’s come around to accept that her correct score is 249, and not 362. I am sure many Nigerians are now relieved to hear that there’s actually an app with which to fabricate UTME scores, and this might be what Ejikeme used to conjure her unbelievably impressive score. She’s therefore not as innocent as she appears. Ejikeme has humiliated herself and family and embarrassed a good number of people, including Gov. Charles Soludo; the Commissioner of Education in Anambra State and Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the Chairman of Innoson Motors who had awarded her a N3 million scholarship and many others who rallied around to offer her support, believing that she was only a brilliant poor girl who was being trampled upon by a powerful government agency. Now, JAMB has banned her for three years from taking its exam. That’s quite draconian. In addition, I ask Anambra State government to provide counselling for her and get her rehabilitated.

But what lessons can we all learn from this episode?

Number one lesson is in child psychology. It is important to understand that young kids could easily be misguided, misdirected, manipulated and deceived by their peers or adults who are out to take advantage of their innocence. This is why this case must be thoroughly investigated so that we get to the bottom of everything. She and her family must cooperate fully with the authorities. It is all the more worrisome that the fraud app was developed by a university undergraduate, according to JAMB. This lends credence the story that many cybercriminals we have around are students. Early this week, I wrote an article on the problems of cybercrime in the banking industry. Ejikeme’s saga is therefore a wake up call on how destructive and pervasive this cybercrime is. Parents therefore have the added duty to watch out for their children and pay special attention to what they are up to. Children naturally have a strong urge to perform well and impress their parents and peers, some to the extent of engaging in cheating or dishonest acts. Some kids believe that they can only earn the respect and validation of their parents if they register the highest scores in exams; and so, they easily get deceived into frauds and cheating. Parents should avoid talking down or denigrating their children. Rather, we should build their self-confidence by continuously encouraging them to work hard and stay honest. Praising a child for the little achievements they record and encouraging them to put in more efforts boost their self-esteem and help to keep them in the right path.  

Number Two is the urge for quick solutions. Many Nigerians will easily jump at any offer that promises quick fixes to their problems, irrespective of the risks or potential crime that may be involved. A Nigerian will most likely accept an offer to buy fake visa from an agent or a syndicate; buy exam papers; cheat in exams; steal from the government or change their test results as in this case. Almost everybody is on the lookout for a ‘miracle’ – that moment of sudden and unexpected breakthrough, fortune or prosperity. With such a mindset, they fall prey easily to many fraudulent schemes. We all want to win without making the sacrifice, incurring the costs and doing the hard work. Worst of all, our kids have learned bad habits from the rest of us, especially the politicians. The idea that cutting corners pays better than hard work is the reason kids spend more hours trying to hack the computer network of banks. Some years ago, I asked a friend’s son who was just getting into college, ‘’so, what would you want to do after school’’? ‘’Politics, uncle’’, he cut in sharply, and added matter-of-factly, ‘’look at how rich these politicians are’’. Miss Ejikeme had thought that fabricating her scores was the shortest way to win scholarship and attain fame. I hope she’s wiser now.

The third lesson to learn is the effect of destructive rivalry. Anambra State, in particular, is the home of intense competition for wealth, fame, popularity and success. Such intense rivalry is driven by boiling-point envy. Adults constantly boast about their wealth while the young ones from underprivileged homes like Ejikeme are constantly the butts of jokes and taunts from their peers. Age-grade societies and town unions offer veritable platforms for members to compare and contrast themselves with each other’s socioeconomic stations. I actually admire the industry and hard work of our brethren from the East. Their dogged determination to prevail, no matter the hurdles, is the most critical success factors they have. It is also the reason there is so much intense competition among them, and part of the reasons others loathe them. Remember how Prof. Soludo spoke disdainfully about Peter Obi’s presidential candidacy last year? That’s what I’m talking about. A bank’s chief executive from Anambra State whom I worked closely with once told me that he couldn’t hire a chauffeur from his state because ‘’as he is driving you around, he would actually be thinking that he should be the one sitting at the back’’. It is possible that Ejikeme might have been compelled to change her score just to beat another Anambra kid who was already the highest scorer in the same exam.

Four: The hysterical mob will always be wrong in their assessments. Did anybody notice the frenzy with which many folks from the South East rushed to defend the young girl without giving a thought to the explanations given by the examination body? Did you see how JAMB was pilloried and brutally attacked in the social media? Did you observe that, once again, Nigeria became the punching bag for all those who espouse Igbo exceptionalism? They just could not contemplate the possibility of the young girl lying. The danger of a single story was obvious. But from experience over the years, I have learned not to follow the crowd. They’re always too emotional, emotive and full of conspiracy theories.

It is often said that crime, criminal activities and criminals are one or two steps ahead of the law, law enforcement and law enforcement agents or agencies. So, the latter often have to engage in catching up with the former. Everyone admits that prevention is better than cure and to be proactive is far better and less expensive than shutting the manger after the horse has bolted; but technology now appears a two-edged sword that is not making the fight against crime any easier. A recent example is the education sector where the scourge of examination malpractice has assumed a new, even frightening, dimension. 

In my own secondary school days in the 1970s, the most prominent examination malpractice was the leaking of examination papers, which was infamously known as “orijo”, a corrupt form of the word “original”, which meant that the leaked paper in your hand was authentic or original and not fake because, in those days, many leaked papers also turned out to be fake and those who set their stores by them gnashed their teeth in the examination hall! Examinations still leak but the technology of cheating is more advanced these days; the impunity with which the criminal activity is conducted and the calibre of people involved beggars belief.

Teachers are bribed to help students in examination halls or to look the other way or take a stroll while mercenaries recruited for the purpose are at work. Anyone who fails to cooperate runs a risk. In many instances, authorities themselves are known to encourage examination malpractice so that their students can be said to have the best results at local, state and national level; especially so where some reward or remuneration is attached. States with the best result in this or that examination; students with the best result in this or that result are other instances of the competition that has fuelled desperation in those involved. Parents have also been known not only to buy “orijos” for their wards but they also enrol them in “special centres” where the students are aided for a fee. Parents have been caught going right into examination halls to personally and physically write examinations for their ward!

Then there are those for whom examination malpractice is a lucrative business; the avalanche of study and CBT centres all over the place is not just about the love for education but because of the "kill" that can be made therefrom. This is not to deny that there are honest study and CBT centres but the few bad eggs in their midst coupled with the desperation of examination candidates and admission applicants have compromised the sanctity of many examinations and called the worth of many certificates into question. I do not envy those charged with the responsibility of conducting examinations at any level in this country. 

In the past few years that I have been privileged to observe at close quarters the efforts of the Prof. Ishaq Oloyede-led Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to clean the Board’s Augean stable and maintain the sanctity of its examinations, it has been one challenge after another. Catching up with the entrepreneurs of examination malpractice is difficult enough; beating them to their game and pre-empting them doubly so. Application of cutting edge technology has been of immense help; ironically, the same technology has proved a challenge in that it has also been available for the examination cheats to deploy.

A trending case is that of, not just one but two or more candidates brandishing “best JAMB results” - results that JAMB has said did not emanate from it. In one of the instances, the so-called best candidate did not even sit for the JAMB examination in question! JAMB’s Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, issued the following statement: “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media celebrating certain candidates for being high scorers in the 2023 UTME. The Board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake (results). In many instances, some of these candidates had actually obtained far lower scores than they are claiming and had used some funny software packages to manipulate their results to deceive unsuspecting members of the public. The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded N3m scholarship by Chief (Dr.) Innocent Chukwuma. She was even set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim only for the Board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had actually scored 249 and not the 362 she claimed (to have scored). She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public to fraudulently obtain scholarship and other recognition.

“The Board would like to state that the likes of Mmesoma are still out there deceiving those who are always in a hurry to bestow honours on candidates without confirming from the Board. A similar case was that of one Atung Gerald in Kaduna who claimed to have scored 380. His ethnic group had taken the issue up, requesting that he should be given special recognition only for the Board to disappoint them with the incontestable fact that Atung never obtained the 2023 UTME application documents, not to talk of sitting the examination! 

"The Board would, therefore, want to advise the public to always crosscheck (result) claims by candidates with the Board before rushing to honour them with undeserving awards as certain software have been created to fake their (own) version of their results and put same out in the public space for fun and this is what the sponsors of these candidates are using to defraud good-spirited Nigerians such as Dr. Innocent, the founder of Innoson Motors, who sincerely desires to celebrate academic excellence by investing in the education of a young Nigerian.

“We commend the likes of Dr. Innocent Chukwuma and wish to encourage other Nigerians, who desire to invest in the future of genuine youngsters, never to be discouraged but to always ensure that they get the authentic results from the Board as done by the Anambra State Ministry of Education; otherwise, they will be celebrating criminality as this is just another new fraudulent method in town.

" However, these candidates only succeeded in manipulating what they are holding (as their results) as the authentic results are with the Board and would be transmitted to their schools of choice at the appropriate time. It is to be noted that Miss Mmesoma had sent a message to the Board’s platform to request her UTME result after which she manually inflated her scores and pasted the same on the 2022 UTME result sheet. 

"Unknown to her, the Board had changed the design of the 2023 UTME result sheet. Her original result remains 249 as nothing can change that. With this her ignoble act, Miss Mmesoma would be prosecuted and her original result withdrawn. This is not all as the Board would, in due course, investigate all candidates laying claims to higher scores than they actually obtained. Once discovered, such candidates’ original results would be withdrawn forthwith and they would be handed over to relevant security agencies for prosecution.”

This new development, we must admit, is very scary. So, every JAMB result must be clarified with JAMB henceforth – and there are hundreds of thousands of such results each year! Then, how long will it take JAMB to neutralise the new technology being employed by the fraudsters? Since the matter is said to be under investigation, let us refrain from further comments. Suffice it to say that since the matter has now come to this, JAMB should stop celebrating "best student this" and "best score that" until further notice! 

There are issues, however, that have become recurring decimals at each year’s policy meeting on admissions into tertiary institutions by JAMB. One is the scandalously low marks that qualify candidates for admission into some of our tertiary institutions. The marks are as low as 140/400 for (some) universities and 100/400 for (some) polytechnics and colleges of education (with some colleges of education even advocating for 80/400!) Something must be wrong with our primary and secondary school education system. Secondly, every year, the preponderance of candidates fails to find space in our institutions of higher learning. Despite the avalanche of state and private universities, the carrying capacity of these schools all combined still falls far short of our needs. Thirdly is the lopsidedness in the vacancies available and the preference of candidates: Medicine and related courses, Law and Pharmacy are courses that thousands of candidates want to read but only a handful are – or can be – admitted. This happens year-in, year-out. Is there nothing that can be done to expand the carrying capacity in these areas? Lastly but not the least of my worries is that Agriculture and Education, critical to national development as they are, are the least preferred courses; every year while hundreds of thousands of admission seekers get frustrated running after Medicine, Law, etc, vacancies exist in these courses that nobody wants! Something very fundamental is wrong with an education system that bears little or no relevance to its own basic and fundamental needs!