A member of the House of Representatives, Iduma Igariwey, has called for the cancellation of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), describing it as a national embarrassment.

Speaking on a Channels Television programme Politics Today, the lawmaker said the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, had failed the nation, citing what he called a “catastrophic institutional failure”.

Igariwey, who also leads the South-East Caucus in the House, argued that the exam process has lost credibility, fairness, and transparency. He said candidates who had prepared diligently were denied a fair opportunity due to widespread technical glitches and poor planning.

He faulted JAMB’s explanation of a “technical glitch” and “human error”, insisting that rescheduling the exam within 48 hours was unfair and unreasonable.

According to him, the decision left many candidates across the South-East unable to access their exam centres due to confusion over venue changes and poor communication.

The lawmaker stressed that JAMB failed to assure Nigerians that the technical problems had been fixed before proceeding with re-scheduled exams on May 16.

He said, “JAMB cannot just set another exam after two days without addressing the issues that led to the failure. Many students couldn’t sit for the exams, and that was our major concern.”

The South-East Caucus has also called for the resignation of JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede. In a statement signed by Igariwey, the lawmakers described the 2025 UTME as a “national shame”, demanding full accountability.

They called for the suspension of officials in charge of JAMB’s digital infrastructure and logistics, warning that mere apologies were not enough.

At a press briefing on May 14, Professor Oloyede admitted to errors, saying, “We are human; we are not perfect.” He announced that over 379,000 affected candidates would re-sit the exams.

JAMB data revealed that more than 78 per percent of the 1.95 million candidates scored below 200, with over 71,000 absentees and nearly 100 cases of malpractice.