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Former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has said he will return to teaching and religious activities after completing his tenure at the board, revealing that one of his priorities is to seek God’s forgiveness after spending 10 years in public office.

He made the disclosure while handing over to his successor, Prof. Segun Aina, during an event on Friday.

Oloyede also defended the board’s decision to impose a three-year ban on a 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate, Mmesoma Ejikeme, over the manipulation of her examination result.

According to him, his years in office exposed him to situations that tested his personal values and spiritual life, leaving him convinced that he now needs time for reflection, repentance and renewed commitment to his faith.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Oloyede said he would return to the classroom and devote more time to his religious activities after leaving office. He explained that his decade in public service had affected certain aspects of his spiritual life and personal principles, making it necessary for him to seek God’s forgiveness and accept responsibility for actions taken while in office.

Reflecting on his tenure, Oloyede credited the achievements recorded by JAMB to the dedication and cooperation of the board’s workforce.

He also expressed confidence that the new registrar would build on the reforms implemented during the past decade, saying the successes achieved during his administration were made possible through the collective commitment and hard work of JAMB staff. He added that he was optimistic Prof. Aina would take the board to greater heights.

Oloyede also revisited the controversy involving Mmesoma Ejikeme, maintaining that JAMB acted appropriately when it sanctioned the candidate after discovering that her UTME score had been altered from 249 to 362. He said the board’s action was aimed solely at protecting the integrity of its examination process.

He described Mmesoma as “our daughter” and said the board handled the matter like a responsible parent correcting a child rather than acting out of malice.

Oloyede said the board harboured no ill feelings towards the candidate, adding that its only regret was that she altered her result. He noted that although many Nigerians were initially misled into believing her claims, those who supported her accepted the truth once the facts emerged.

He further expressed regret that many people initially believed the false narrative surrounding the case because parents naturally want to trust their children. However, he said the eventual revelation of the facts vindicated JAMB’s position and affirmed the board’s actions.

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The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), has attributed the technical glitches recorded during Saturday’s mock accreditation exercise in Osun State to compatibility issues involving old Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), assuring voters that the problem was identified and resolved within an hour.

Speaking with journalists at the INEC headquarters in Osogbo after monitoring the exercise, Amupitan explained that the mock accreditation successfully achieved its objective of exposing potential technical challenges ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

According to him, the commission’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) team promptly intervened after reports emerged that some older PVCs were not being recognised by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

“We initially had a minor hitch, and I call it minor because if it happened during the election, it would have been a major hitch,” Amupitan said.

“We discovered that most of the old cards were not being accredited. This was a result of what we call a compatibility score, or a similarity score. The moment we were alerted, our ICT team worked on it and within one hour the issue was resolved. We didn’t have to wait until election day.”

He explained that some PVCs issued as far back as 2011 had become worn out or defaced, making them difficult for the machines to read, adding that the commission had earlier considered validating such cards for that reason.

The INEC chairman stressed that the mock exercise was organised to detect and resolve any technical issues before the governorship election, noting that a similar incident on election day could easily have been misinterpreted as a complete failure of the BVAS.

“We want to identify problems ahead of time. If this had happened on election day, many people would have concluded that BVAS had failed. But we have the capacity to overcome every challenge,” he added.

Amupitan also announced that the commission had increased the number of BVAS machines for the election from 4,427 to 5,130 following concerns raised by political parties over deployment.

According to him, the additional machines will cater for split polling units in Ife East, Irewole, Egbedore, Ede North and Osogbo Local Government Areas.

He further disclosed that the number of backup BVAS machines had been doubled from 664 to 1,328 to ensure prompt replacement of any faulty device during the election.

Meanwhile, the Osun State chapter of the Accord Party expressed concern over the glitches recorded during the mock accreditation, urging INEC to carry out a comprehensive technical audit of the BVAS configuration before the election.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Pastor Victor Akande, the party described the observed errors as fundamental and called for direct involvement of political stakeholders in resolving the identified challenges.

“With less than two weeks until election day, INEC must demonstrate genuine readiness for reliable, fast and transparent technological applications in the electoral process,” the statement read.

While expressing confidence in the commission’s ability to conduct a credible election as it did in 2022, the party proposed the establishment of a technical committee comprising representatives of all contesting political parties to support INEC in the corrective process.

According to the party, such collaboration would strengthen public confidence and prevent speculation over the integrity of the BVAS.

Similarly, a civil society organisation, the Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Citizens (CCNC), called on INEC to provide a detailed explanation of the technical problems allegedly experienced during the exercise.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Comrade Raufu Sodiq, popularly known as “Oluomo Success,” the coalition alleged that several BVAS machines failed to recognise fingerprints, facial features and PVCs shortly after accreditation commenced in some polling units.

The group described the development as disturbing, arguing that a mock accreditation exercise should ordinarily strengthen public confidence in the electoral process rather than raise fresh concerns about the commission’s preparedness.

CCNC maintained that voter accreditation remains the foundation of every credible election because it determines voter eligibility and safeguards the integrity of the electoral process.

The coalition therefore urged the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner and the national leadership of INEC to publicly explain whether the reported glitches were caused by software, hardware or configuration issues, disclose contingency plans for the state’s 3,763 polling units, replace any defective BVAS machines and consider conducting another mock accreditation exercise before the August 15 governorship election.

“We believe in strong democratic institutions and do not want to see INEC fail. However, public confidence must be built on competence, transparency and accountability. The people of Osun deserve an election where every eligible voter can vote without avoidable technological failures,” the coalition stated.

INEC conducted the statewide mock accreditation exercise on Saturday to test the functionality of the BVAS and other electoral processes ahead of the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

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Dangote Refinery-backed MRS filling stations and other filling stations across Nigeria have reduced their petrol pump prices.

A market survey by DAILY POST on Saturday showed that MRS filling stations in Abuja have reduced their petrol pump price to N1,265 per litre from N1,305 per litre.

This is the case at MRS filling stations in Kubwa and along the Lugbe Expressway in Abuja.

This means that MRS filling stations have reduced their petrol pump price by N40 per litre.

Similarly, AA Rano filling stations in Abuja reduced their petrol pump price by N30, bringing it down to N1,300 per litre.

The latest price adjustments have brought petrol retail prices to N1,265 and N1,300 per litre, down from N1,305 and N1,330 per litre, respectively. This comes after nearly two weeks of fuel price hikes amid crude oil price volatility.

The development comes as Dangote Refinery recently announced the free distribution of its petrol across at least five states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at a gantry price of N1,215 per litre, as Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at about $84 and $87 per barrel, respectively, over the weekend.

DAILY POST reports that depot owners are dispensing petrol at between N1,217 and N1,222 per litre at Pinnacle, Emedab, NIPCO and Sigmund depots.