From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Two staff of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Mr Andy Okoro and Gambo Ibrahim Abba, have been arrested for extorting money from Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates with the promise to help them secure university’s admission.
Okoro, a level 12 officer in Delta State JAMB’s office, was said to had collected N500,000 from four candidates’ parents, out of which he paid N180,000 to a colleague, Gambo, to help facilitate their admission.
Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said the bubble bursted when one of the parents in Delta State petitioned JAMB on Okoro’s activities, a move that prompted the Board to open up a deep investigation into the issue.
Prof. Oloyede was surprised that the affected staff could defied the Board’s zero tolerance for corruption, with a vow to ensure they face the full wrath the law.
He said: “Anybody who engages in sharp practices, no matter who the person is, shall not be protected by the Board because the Board has zero tolerance for corruption.”
Prof. Oloyede thus, called on parents and candidates not to allow anyone collect money from them on the guise of helping them secure admission to their choice institution, as the system is now fully automated.
His words: “Anybody working in JAMB or anybody who has good calculation knows what admission process is. He or she can predict who can be admitted because the system has been automated.
“What is happening now is that people know those that will be admitted, because they know by the automation this person could be admitted, and they now go and be extorting the parents of those that have already been slated for admission.
“We need to let the public know that there is no halfway to admission. Nobody should bribe or give any amount to anybody whether they are JAMB staff or they are not JAMB staff. Anybody who solicit money from any parent, the parent should inform the Board.”
Meanwhile, Bayo Olajide, a tutorial centre operator in Koroduma, Nasarawa State, has landed in trouble for collecting N6,500 registration fees from would-be UTME candidates.
Bayo was said to have engaged in the act even when JAMB was yet to commence sales of form for the 2021 exercise.
“He has been collecting money from candidates in the name of 2021 UTME registration, and you all know we have not commenced the registration.
“He was arrested and when asked, he claimed he is a tutorial person, that he has been teaching candidates for the exam, but the tragedy of the story was that himself was not even qualified to sit for the exam,” JAMB’s Head of Media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said.
Bayo, who revealed that his highest academic qualification was” O Level”, admitted receiving money from only one person.