Sit-At-Home Affects UTME In South-East

*Results Of 1.4 Million Candidates Will Soon Be Released — Jamb

THE 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) held nationwide on Monday UTME without the participation of most students from the five states of the South-East region, no thanks to the weekly Monday sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). 

The sit-at-home was ordered by IPOB as part of the measures it put in place to demand the unconditional release of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing charges bordering on treason in an Abuja Federal High Court. 

In Anambra State for instance, all centres designated for the ongoing UTME were, on Monday, shut in compliance with the weekly Monday IPOB order. 

Our correspondent who monitored the order in Onitsha, Nnewi and Ekwulobia, observed that the JAMB examination centres, banks, markets, filing stations, motor parks, shopping malls and other business premises were also under lock and key. 

In Awka, the examination centres, including JAMB office, located at Amawobia By-pass via Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Awka, were also under lock and key. But commercial activities, especially, commercial vehicles and petty traders were sighted. 

A female JAMB candidate, who expressed her feelings to our correspondent at one of the Awka centres and who does not want her name in print, said she would relocate to the North or SouthWest Nigeria, if IPOB did not stop threatening the future of Igbo children in their course of fight for freedom. 

She called on the SouthEast governors to intensify efforts to end the sit-at-home menace. 

Mrs Ngozi Nwude-Nduka, the administrator at Integral Development Consult, Awka, who spoke to Nigerian Tribune, on why the centre was shut down on Monday said it took the decision as a precautionary measure. 

“We want to play safe for the safety of the candidates as possibilities of non-vehicular movement may be experienced that would hinder smooth transportation process for candidates who will come from far and near for the said examination,” she said. 

She advised affected candidates to reprint their examination slips to know their new dates for the examination and urged other candidates for May 10, Tuesday, and May 11, Wednesday, examination schedule to be on time at the centre to avoid arriving late lateness to their examination centres. 

The National vice President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Damian Ogene-Okeke, said that the IPOB struggle would only be handled by the South-East governors. Attempt to speak with the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Paul Nwosu, was unsuccessful, as he did not pick his calls. 

In Enugu, contrary to earlier report that the examination held in some centres in the Coal City, Nigerian Tribune gathered that at some UTME centres where students were already gathered in their numbers, up until 11.20 am, hoping that their the examinations would hold by noon, when word filtered in that the exams had been postponed to Tuesday. 

Some of the students began to disperse, mostly those who could trek home or pay exorbitant fares charged by daring keke and minibuses. 

Others stayed waiting for the sit-at-home period to elapse before going, while out of town candidates had to renew their lodging arrangement so as to be on ground for exams on Tuesday. There has been mounted security at some centres as well as mixture of security patrols around the state, involving military and paramilitary agencies. Those from Enugu to Federal College of Education, Eha Amufu which is nearly 100 kilometres North-West of Enugu faced similar ordeal. 

All JAMB examination centres in Abia were under lock and keys Monday as the examinations were shifted to Tuesday. At the JAMB headquarters in Ubakala, Umuahia South, the office was securely locked with few security staff on standby. Meanwhile, streets of Umuahia and Aba were deserted due to the IPOB sit-at-home. 

According to the President-General, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), Goodluck Ibem, shifting the examinations was the best thing to do to safeguard the students. The situation was the same in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State But it was a different ball game in Imo State as JAMB held its examinations in the state despite the usual Monday sit-at-home observed in the South-East zone. 

While the roads, streets, markets, motor packs, eateries were deserted, one of the approved centres at no 77 Wethedral Road was full of life with huge number of candidates who wanted to participate in the examination. 

Our correspondent in Owerri, who monitored the examination in Owerri, saw a good number of UTME candidates alighting from vehicles at the centre for the examination. 

There was no presence of any security personnel from the beginning of the examination till the end. 

A UTME candidate in the centre, Emeka Nwadigo, said that the examination was successful despite the observance of the sit-at-home order. 

He thanked God for protecting them during the period of the examination. 

Also, JAMB has disclosed that more than 1.4 million candidates have successfully sat for the ongoing 2022 UTME, assuring that the results will soon be released to the respective candidates. 

The board noted that the 1.4 million candidates have so far taken the examination across the nation as of April 9, 2022 with examination towns and centres completing their own allotted number of candidates for the year, while the results of sessions already taken would be released to the respective candidates soon. 

JAMB, in its Weekly Bulletin made available to newsmen by the spokesperson of the board, Dr Fabian Benjamin, however, said these results would be released with a caveat that after preview of the CCTV footage of the conduct of the examination, the result of any candidate found wanting would be withdrawn if it had been released or withheld if not yet released. The board added that as the examination progresses, it was pleased to announced that there have not been significant concerns as the reports coming from the states established the veracity of the earlier reports received from various centres accreditation teams. 

The 2022 UTME had commenced on Friday last week nationwide, with a total number of 1.7 million candidates registered to sit for examination nationwide. The about 11-day examination being conducted by JAMB and holding in over 755 Computer Based Test (CBT) Centres, would end on May 16.