The era of Professor Is-haq Oloyede at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) came to a close on Friday as he formally handed over the reins of the country’s tertiary admissions body to Professor Segun Aina, charging him to preserve the integrity of the institution and consolidate the reforms of the past decade.

The symbolic transfer of authority at JAMB’s headquarters in Bwari, Abuja, ushered in a new chapter for the examination body, with 40-year-old Aina becoming its sixth Registrar.

Accompanied by his wife, Motunrayo, the new Registrar pledged to build on the gains recorded under his predecessor while adopting a methodical approach to leadership.

For Oloyede, who spent 10 years transforming JAMB through sweeping technological and administrative reforms, his greatest achievement was leaving the institution better than he met it. He expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for the opportunity to serve and urged members of staff to extend the same loyalty, dedication and cooperation they accorded him to his successor.

He noted that the achievements recorded during his time in office were made possible by the collective commitment and hard work of the Board’s workforce and expressed confidence in Aina’s ability to take JAMB to greater heights.

The former Registrar also revealed that he would be returning to academia and devoting more time to religious activities. The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin said public service had been demanding both professionally and spiritually, noting that he looked forward to quietly returning to the classroom while seeking spiritual rejuvenation after a decade in office.

“But for me, what’s next is back to my class and my religious activities. I think that is what is next for me. You cannot serve in these past 10 years without losing one spiritual quality or the other, so I need to go back and we are in a very dangerous system that in one way or the other you will have violated your own principles yourself. You need some time to go and beg God for what was done. And you have to accept the responsibility because for each and every one of them,” he said.

Reflecting on one of the most controversial moments of his tenure, Oloyede said he had no regrets over JAMB’s decision to impose a three-year ban on Mmesoma Ejikeme, the 2023 UTME candidate who inflated her score from 249 to 362. He maintained that the Board acted to protect the integrity of its examination process, stressing that the disciplinary measure was intended as a deterrent rather than an act of malice.

Describing Mmesoma as “our daughter”, he said JAMB approached the matter with the responsibility of a parent correcting a child and expressed satisfaction that the truth eventually prevailed despite initial public scepticism.

He said: “No hard feelings. If there is any regret, it is that she did what she did because she is part of us. We did what we should do and, of course, we regret that she did what she did. Many people, unfortunately, were misdirected. But as soon as the truth was established, everybody who was supporting her accepted the truth of the matter.

“Every parent wants to believe his or her child. When you see them, you want to believe that they are too innocent to manufacture such things. So, I mostly regret that some people supported that narrative, but I am happy that at the end of the day, we have been vindicated. Of course, that does not remove the punishment she had to serve. It’s not out of wickedness, but in order to serve as a deterrent.

“Once we do not do things on the basis of hatred, and the office requires that we do certain things and we do them, there should be no regret. There should be no hard feelings. So, no regrets.”

On his part, Aina wasted no time in setting the tone for his administration, declaring that there would be no compromise on JAMB’s core values of integrity, transparency and credibility.

He warned those contemplating attempts to  outsmart the Board’s systems to abandon such plans, insisting that JAMB’s technology-driven processes would continue to frustrate examination malpractice and fraud.

“The integrity of JAMB is not negotiable. Those harbouring thoughts of outsmarting the system should abandon such plans because our technology-driven processes will continue to frustrate every form of malpractice and fraud,” he said.

The new Registrar assured stakeholders that his immediate priority would be to listen, observe and thoroughly interrogate existing systems before implementing changes.

He said his administration would focus on consolidating ongoing reforms and gradually introducing improvements aimed at strengthening public confidence in JAMB and preserving the sanctity of Nigeria’s tertiary admissions