Oloyede: My Greatest Achievement Is Leaving JAMB Better Than I Met It

Outgoing Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, says his greatest achievement after 10 years in office is leaving the examination body in a better condition than he met it.

Oloyede made the remark on Friday during the official handover ceremony at the JAMB headquarters in Abuja, marking the end of his second five-year tenure.

He was first appointed registrar in August 2016 and was reappointed for a second term in 2021. President Bola Tinubu recently named Professor Segun Aina as his successor.

Reflecting on his stewardship, Oloyede said the transformation of JAMB over the past decade remains the most fulfilling accomplishment of his career.

“I did not leave JAMB worse than I met it. That is my greatest achievement,” he said.

He explained that his administration was guided by five major principles: staff welfare, discipline, technology, transparency and networking.

According to him, the board invested over N8 billion in strengthening employees’ retirement savings and financial security, while introducing a 13th-month salary, retirement bonuses and enhanced examination duty incentives.

Oloyede said deserving staff members also benefited from promotions, medical support and recognition for outstanding performance.

Beyond staff welfare, he noted that JAMB reduced the cost of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination application by 30 per cent and continued supporting tertiary institutions through annual intervention programmes.

On discipline, he said the board maintained a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct, leading to the prosecution of several officials over alleged offences.

He recalled the widely publicised 2017 case involving a staff member who claimed a snake swallowed N36 million realised from the sale of scratch cards, describing it as part of efforts to entrench accountability.

Highlighting technological reforms, Oloyede listed the expansion of Computer-Based Testing, the Central Admissions Processing System, biometric verification, digital payment systems, CCTV monitoring and institutional digital transformation among key achievements.

He acknowledged that the technical glitches experienced during the 2025 UTME demonstrated that technology has limitations but stressed the need for continuous vigilance and improvement.

Oloyede also credited the success of his administration to collaboration with security agencies, government institutions and stakeholders.

He expressed confidence that his successor, Professor Segun Aina, would build on the reforms, saying the incoming registrar’s youthfulness and information technology expertise would further strengthen JAMB’s operations and enhance its service delivery nationwide.