NUC, VCs deny bribery allegation against Reps C’ttee

The National Universities Commission (NUC) and Committee of Vice Chancellors (VCs) have denied bribery and extortion allegations against the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing job racketeering and mismanagement of IPPIS in MDAs. Prof. Chris Maiyaki, the acting Executive Secretary, NUC, and Prof. Isiah Tanko, the VC of University of Jos, denied the allegation as reported by an online medium. They denied the report attributed to them when they jointly appeared before the committee in Abuja on Friday. Speaking on the issue as reported by the medium which alleged that the committee collected money from NUC and VCs for soft-landing over the probe, the NUC official said the report was baseless. According to him, the publication is regrettable, whatever the substance is, we wish that this does not impugn the partnership we have with the lawmakers which we should be promoting. Maiyaki said the universities occupied a special place in the life of any nation, advising that the lawmakers and the universities should come together to create a game changer for the country. On his part, Tanko, who represented Prof. Lilian Salami, the Chairman of the Committee of VCs, said they read the publication, but added that the VCs were not part of the allegation. “We read the disturbing publication and I can say that the VCs were not part of that and we did not provide any bribe to anybody, “We all dispersed from the committee investigative hearing as soon as we finished the last time we appeared before you,” said the representatives of the VCs. Maiyaki stressed that: “Soliciting money for bribes is out of contest and not true, the reporter did not find out the fact. We have hope and confidence in this ad hoc committee.” He said more than five programmes of University of Jos were in danger of being dis-accredited because of lack of manpower, adding “we were looking up to the committee to correct that”. The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, however noted that the publication was a sponsored to divert the attention of the members from finding out the deep-rooted evil that existed in public sectors. “It is not even our mandate to investigate the publication by Premium Times, but to investigate alleged racketeering in MDAs. “The investigating authorities like the ICPC and EFCC have been given the mandate to investigate those allegations and the account number,” he said. 

Mmesoma used her phone to forge JAMB result– Committee Report

*Recommends psychiatric evaluation for her; Apologise to JAMB, School, Anambra State Government More revelations have come to light concerning the result authenticity tussle between the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) and Mmesoma Ejikeme, a candidate that sat for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exam (UTME). Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo had set up a committee to investigate the alleged falsification of results of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination by Mmesoma Ejikeme, who last Wednesday confessed on television that the result she paraded (362) was actually not hers but she took advantage of a glitch in the system to claim it. The panel, in a report addressed to the Governor, said that it reviewed Mmesoma ‘s JAMB results and conducted interviews with relevant parties, including JAMB officials and other individuals involved. The report stated that JAMB officials led by Dr Fabian Benjamin, Head, Public Affairs, presented what specifically transpired between the candidate, Mmesoma with registration number: 20230639047FF in her quest to obtain her JAMB score. It said that Mmesoma, who hails from Anambra state, admitted to have manipulated her UTME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the state government. “The finding of the committee are that the results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249. “The results paraded by Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 362 is fake as buttressed by the very instructive variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name and other infractions. ‘”Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone and proceeded to the cybercafé, Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu in Nnewi where she printed the results she had manipulated,” it said. The report recommended that Mmesoma should immediately tender an unreserved written apology to JAMB, the Anglican Girls’ Secondary school, and the Anambra State Government. It also recommended that Mmesoma should undergo a psychological counselling and therapy. “We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions and deceptions that have been in the public domain. “All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body,” the report stated. The report was signed by Prof. Nkemdili Nnonyelu and six others. See the full Report below: 7th July 2023 Prof. C.C Soludo, Governor, Anambra State. Mr. Governor, REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA’S JAMB SCORE CONTROVERSY Recall Mr. Governor that with the recent release of scores of candidates who applied for admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and subsequent announcement of Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a 19 year old student of Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, from Enugu State, protested to the State Government that she scored 362 and ought to have been so recognised. This has elicited interests and generated serious controversy and misgivings among the general public that the State Government in its wisdom decided to constitute a Committee of Inquiry to look into the underlisted terms of reference; Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s JAMB Results and associated documents Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Elikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process. Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation. The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for interactive session with the Committee. JAMB off Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s JAMB Results and associated documents Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Elikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process. Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation. The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for interactive session with the Committee. JAMB officials led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what specifically transpired between the candidate Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with registration number: 20230639047FF in her quest to obtain her JAMB score. JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidate’s UTME Results to wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249. JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score from JAMB. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249. Besides, a number of red-flags was also highlighted by JAMB officials showing a different date of birth, different Registration Number, Notification of results template that has been discarded since 2021, amongst others. It was also evident that even the centre name “Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development as it was known before now) used for the examination was also manipulated where the candidate used the old name of the centre (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet. In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired. She also admitted to have given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using same phone Airtel Number. According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafé (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated. The Committee tried to find out the motive behind her action, but Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma