Three years after one of Nigeria’s most controversial examination scandals, the three-year ban imposed on Anambra student Ejikeme Mmesoma, by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board is due to expire this July, making her eligible once again to sit the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

Mmesoma became the centre of national attention in July 2023 after she claimed to have scored 362 in the UTME, a result that would have ranked her among the country’s highest-performing candidates.

The claim initially drew public sympathy after she accused JAMB of failing to recognise her achievement. However, the controversy quickly escalated after the examination body declared the result she presented fake.

JAMB insisted that Mmesoma’s authentic score was 249 and alleged that she manipulated her result using her mobile phone before printing a forged copy at a cybercafé.

The board pointed to several discrepancies, including differences in her registration number, date of birth, examination centre and the format of the result slip, noting that the notification template she used had been discontinued since 2021.

While Mmesoma initially maintained that she printed the result directly from JAMB’s portal and denied any wrongdoing, the Anambra State Government constituted an independent panel of inquiry to investigate the dispute.

The panel, chaired by Prof. Nkemdili Nnonyelu, interviewed JAMB officials, Mmesoma, her school authorities and other relevant parties before submitting its findings.

In its report released on July 8, 2023, the panel confirmed that Mmesoma’s actual UTME score was 249 and that the 362 score she presented was manipulated.

According to the panel, Mmesoma admitted during the proceedings that she personally altered the result using her Airtel mobile phone before taking it to a cybercafé for printing.

The report stated that she acted alone and apologised to JAMB, the Anambra State Government and her school over the incident.

Following the findings, JAMB withdrew the forged result and announced a three-year ban preventing her from participating in any of its examinations.

The board said the sanction was in line with its established procedures for examination malpractice and result falsification.

“In the meantime, the management of the Board, after considering the weighty infraction committed by Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, and in line with its established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result and also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years,” JAMB spokesman Fabian Benjamin said at the time.

JAMB also maintained that its examination system had not been compromised, insisting that Mmesoma simply falsified a result slip.

The scandal had far-reaching consequences.

Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing withdrew the scholarship earlier awarded to her following the announcement of the alleged outstanding score.

Her father, Romanus Ejikeme, later apologised publicly to JAMB and Nigerians, saying his daughter failed to tell him the truth on time.

“My daughter didn’t open up to me on time. When I realised the mistake she did, I blamed her a lot but I’m still apologising to JAMB and Nigerians to pardon her,” he said in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo also directed that Mmesoma undergo three months of psychotherapy and counselling.

The controversy sparked widespread national debate, attracting reactions from politicians, education stakeholders and civil society groups.

While some initially questioned JAMB’s handling of the matter, many later accepted the board’s position after Mmesoma admitted manipulating the result before the state panel.

The House of Representatives had also called on JAMB to suspend the implementation of the ban pending investigation, while former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, and former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, appealed for compassion and counselling rather than public condemnation.

With the expiration of the three-year sanction this month, Mmesoma is expected to become eligible again to register for the UTME should she decide to pursue admission into a tertiary institution.

Her case remains one of the most prominent examination fraud controversies in recent years. It is frequently cited in discussions on examination ethics, digital result verification and the consequences of academic dishonesty in Nigeria.

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The National Universities Commission and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board have approved the enforcement of admission quotas for engineering and technology programmes in Nigerian universities to improve the quality of engineering education and practical training.

The President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, announced the approval on Tuesday during a media briefing ahead of the council’s 34th Engineering Assembly in Abuja.

Abubakar said the approval would ensure universities admit only the number of students their infrastructure, laboratories, workshops, equipment and academic staff can adequately support.

He said, “I am happy to inform the nation that we have finally gotten the approval and endorsement of both the National Universities Commission and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to enforce admission quotas in all engineering and technology programmes run by Nigerian universities.

“What this means is that the engineering profession has now come to the level of the medical profession, the legal profession, the pharmaceutical profession and similar disciplines where admissions are carefully regulated to ensure quality.

“We are trying to ensure there is a quality training regime at the university level so that we produce competent graduates with stronger hands-on competencies who will not only practise successfully in Nigeria but compete favourably anywhere in the world.”

He described the development as the culmination of decades of advocacy by the engineering profession, noting that unrestricted admissions had overstretched facilities and weakened practical training in many institutions.

“This is going to be a game changer for our country and for the workforce Nigeria is likely going to export globally. Engineering is becoming increasingly global, and our graduates must possess the practical competence required to compete internationally,” he said.

According to him, the council is also working with the National Board for Technical Education to introduce similar admission controls for engineering programmes in polytechnics.

Abubakar disclosed that COREN had reintroduced the indexing and oath-taking of engineering graduates, as well as the mandatory one-year Engineering Residency Programme for degree and Higher National Diploma holders before proceeding for the National Youth Service Corps.

He said the residency programme was designed to provide graduates with structured industrial exposure before they begin their professional careers.

The COREN president also announced that the council had trained and certified 239 engineering infrastructure failure and forensic investigators to investigate engineering failures, including building collapses, bridge failures and industrial accidents.

He added that 839 engineering programme evaluators drawn from academia and industry had also been trained to strengthen accreditation and quality assurance in universities and polytechnics.

Abubakar said the council had intensified compliance inspections nationwide, expanded its regional offices, digitised its registration process and reactivated its disciplinary tribunal as part of efforts to strengthen engineering regulation.

He warned that engineering failures often stem from non-compliance with professional standards.

“We now have a critical mass of engineering infrastructure failure and forensic investigators in Nigeria who are ready to commence this important regulatory assignment.

“The objective is to determine scientifically what went wrong whenever engineering infrastructure fails, identify those responsible and recommend measures that will prevent future occurrences,” he stated.

The COREN president said this year’s Engineering Assembly, themed “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria Through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement and Tiered Sanctioning Regime,” would focus on strengthening engineering governance and reducing infrastructure failures across the country.

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Nigeria’s first Manufacturing Technology University Innovation Pod (Manu-Tech UniPod) was formally launched on Monday at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State.

The landmark project is a joint initiative of the Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Abia State Government.

Speaking during the inauguration, Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by the Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, said the establishment of the Manu-Tech UniPod reaffirms the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning higher education as a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship, research commercialisation and job creation.

Describing it as a “strategic investment in Nigeria’s future,” the Vice President said universities must evolve beyond traditional teaching and research to become hubs for enterprise development, technology transfer and industrial competitiveness.

According to the Vice President, “This initiative represents far more than the commissioning of another university facility.

“It is the unveiling of the broad national vision that positions our universities as agents of industrial transformation, innovation, enterprise creation, and sustainable economic development.”

According to him, “Let me reaffirm the unwavering commitment of the Federal Government to creating an educational system that develops talent, drives innovation, accelerates industrialisation, and contributes meaningfully to the achievement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion Nigerian economy by the year 2030.”

In his keynote address titled, Science Meets Enterprise, Abia State Governor Alex Otti said the siting of the UniPod in Abia speaks to the confidence the UNDP and the Federal Government have in the state’s potential as an engine of growth and economic prosperity in the region.

He noted that the confidence reposed in Abia by the partners was yielding tangible results, adding that the event demonstrated that confidence, and appreciated the siting of the project in the state.

According to the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, H.E. Ahunna Eziakonwa, “This Innovation Pod—this UniPod—is one thread in that grand tapestry. Here, in Abia State, Nigeria, we believe in the impossible.

“What this Innovation Pod represents is more than a physical space. It is a commitment to unlock the creative and innovative potential of Africa’s youth. Here, engineering meets art. Business meets social enterprise. The boundaries between disciplines dissolve. Here, failure is a critical step in innovation. Here, diversity of thought is our greatest asset.”

Also speaking, the Resident Representative of UNDP Nigeria, Ms Elsie Attafuah, described the occasion as “a remarkable journey of innovation that is unfolding across Nigeria,” adding, “Today’s launch is one important response to that vision. It is also a response to the confidence that His Excellency placed in our partnership when he challenged UNDP to help position Abia as Nigeria’s leading hub for innovation-driven industrial transformation.”

While acknowledging the contribution of TETFund under the leadership of Arc. Sonny Echono, she said, “Across Nigeria, TETFund is helping to deliver strategic infrastructure in our universities.”

She added, “UNDP is mobilising US$1 billion to help build Africa’s largest innovation ecosystem, supporting 10,000 startups, enabling 1,000 high-growth ventures to scale, improving the livelihoods of over 100 million people, and generating US$10 billion in value across the continent over the next decade.”

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of MOUAU, Prof. Ursala Akanwa, described the commissioning as a defining moment in the university’s history.

She said the project represents the fulfilment of the institution’s mandate to deploy science, technology and innovation in advancing agricultural development, manufacturing and enterprise.

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