The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, has shrugged off calls for his resignation, following glitches that marred the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and his acceptance of responsibility.

The development comes a day after the South-East Caucus of the House of Representatives called for the resignation of the JAMB Registrar over the controversy that marred the exercise.

This is even as the examination body has reacted to the tragic news of a 19-year-old candidate, Opesusi Timilehin, who took her own life due to disappointment over her low scores in the just concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Oloyede, who spoke at the opening session of a meeting with the examination body’s Chief External Examiners across the country as well as some civil society organisations in Abuja on Wednesday, expressed sadness at the unfortunate news.

Opesusi, who resided in Lagos, had intended to study Microbiology at the university. She scored 146 and took her own life.

In an emotional press conference last week, Prof Oloyede would later admit server and human error and rescheduled the exercise for 379,997 candidates in Lagos and the five South-East states.

Addressing reporters before the commencement of the meeting at its headquarters in Abuja, Oloyede shrugged off calls for his resignation.

According to him, students would be disappointed if he threw in the towel after taking responsibility for the technical glitches that marred the exercise in some parts of the country.

He expressed disappointment that some individuals without knowledge of JAMB’s operations were publicly criticizing the board.

He stressed his commitment to accountability, citing his track record in educational advancement and examination conduct.

He said, “The unfortunate case of a lady who was said to have committed suicide was painful for any normal parent. As chief executive of JAMB, I don’t really care where any of our staff come from; all I know is that they have been doing their jobs for years.

“The emotional breakdown on my part was not a sign of weakness, nor is it an excuse to abdicate our responsibilities. Let us not descend to a level where some people begin to pontificate because some people want to take advantage of the situation on the ground.”

Oloyede, who called for a moment of silence to honour the 19-year-old deceased candidate, expressed concerns that some parents/guardians faked the deaths of their children/wards to gain public sympathy.

“On the day of the press conference, I was under intense pressure,” he said.

“Unknown to many of you, I thought many people had committed suicide. One is bad enough. But the text message I received. In fact, one of them, who said my daughter committed suicide this morning because of this, called me in the night, saying that she was looking for money.

“I was under intense pressure given the false impression that so many things are happening to these innocent children.”

The JAMB boss expressed profound gratitude to stakeholders for their understanding and show of support.

He also announced that mop-up exams will be conducted for candidates who were genuinely unable to take the initial exam.