By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board is withholding 39,834 UTME results after uncovering irregularities, with over 80 suspects currently being interrogated nationwide during the 2025 examinations.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it is withholding 39,834 results from the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The results are being withheld due to several cases of exam malpractice.

This update came as the board officially released the results of the 2025 UTME. It had earlier reported that around 1.9 million candidates participated in the exam across Nigeria.

According to JAMB, about 80 suspects are currently being questioned in different parts of the country for their alleged involvement in cheating during the exam. The highest number of suspects so far has come from Anambra State, with 14 individuals under investigation.

While announcing the release of the results, the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, shared more details about the situation. He revealed that only 467 underage candidates were able to meet the required rminimum score for admission. He also said that 50 of those underage candidates had been caught cheating.

GWG.ng reports that the decision of JAMB to withhold the 39,834 results from the UTME trails claims by a senior government official that the increased failure from the exam was a result of the administration’s tough measures against malpractises.

Ex-Governor of Kano State and the National Leader of Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso has slammed some key members of the New Nigerian Peoples Party in Kano State, who recently defected to All Progressives Congress, describing their actions as betrayal of the the movement and party.

He made this remark at his Miller Road residence in Kano on Friday evening when he received hundreds of supporters from Takai Local Government who refused join the All Progressives Congress.

Recall that Senator Abdulrahman Kawu, who represents Kano South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, recently defected to the APC along with some federal lawmakers from Kano State.

Even though Kwankwaso did not mention their names, he said,” Kano South is a lesson. Voters rejected superghetti, N200 and Atamfa (wrappers) and were patient to vote for the NNPP.

“But those who won the election among us decided to abandon the masses and join those who do not have the masses at heart but are only after what they will get for themselves and their families.

“There is no worse political sin than leaving the party that gave you the opportunity and support but later you abandoned the party. This is the highest level of betrayal,” Kwankwaso said.

He, therefore, advised the youth to be wary of such politicians who are not after their well-being but rather they are after their pockets.

The former governor, who appreciated the decampees for “taking the courage to return to their base, said all those who betrayed Kwankwasiyya would regret their actions sooner or later.

“Fighting Kwankwasiyya is not an easy task, they will not know until when they engage in the fight.

In his remark, the state NNPP chairman, Hashimu Dungurawa thanked the decampees for taking the right step and assured them that the party would treat them equally.

The occasion was witnessed by the Senator representing Kano Central, Senator Rufai Sani Hanga, former Commissioner of Religious Affairs, Falali and chairman of Takai local government, Ibrahim Faruruwa among others.

Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said there is nothing wrong if Nigeria evolves into a one-party state, provided it reflects the will of the people.

Speaking to State House correspondents on Friday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Ganduje dismissed concerns raised by opposition leaders over the country’s political direction.

He insisted that the growing dominance of the APC is a reflection of public trust in the party’s governance.

“If one-party state is a wish and blessing to Nigeria; One-party state is not by force; it is by negotiation,” Ganduje said.

“If other political parties see the effect of the positive governance of our party and decide to come to our party willingly, I think there is nothing wrong with that.”

Citing China as an example of a successful one-party system, Ganduje stated that the APC is not actively working to eliminate opposition, but that defections and realignments are part of democratic processes.

“Too many political parties spoil governance,” he added.

Ganduje led three senators from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reportedly from Kebbi State, to meet with President Tinubu, announcing their intention to join the APC.

According to him, their defection is the result of extensive negotiations among stakeholders in the state and is part of APC’s broader strategy to strengthen its base.

“This is a good development and in consonance with what is happening in Nigeria today. Almost every week in the Senate and House of Representatives, you see members of other political parties decamping to our party,” he said.

Ganduje assured that the APC is prepared to smoothly integrate the new members, maintaining that the party’s strategy to expand both its numbers and the quality of its membership is aligned with democratic principles.