The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has sent a direct message to Nigerian parents and University applicants: if your child has a strong UTME score and has not been offered admission to their chosen institution, do not resort to illegal channels. Speak up, and the system will work for you.

JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede made the call during an interview on Good Morning Nigeria, broadcast on the Nigerian Television Authority, in a video posted on Tuesday. He acknowledged that many parents continue to seek illegal routes to admission simply because they have grown accustomed to a broken system and cannot conceive of a legitimate alternative. "People are so daring, and the parents, because they have climbed the ladder to illegality, they believe there is no other way. I've seen many people who sent their children's scores to me and asked what they could do. I tell them I will do nothing, and the candidate is admitted, and they thank me. I did nothing," he said.

Oloyede pointed to the Central Admissions Processing System as the foundation of the Board's transparency drive, describing it as fully capable of managing the admissions process without interference or error. "If you find anybody, if you are sure of yourself, you have a score, and this is the UTME score of my child, and you know that you ought to be admitted and you are not admitted, protest to us because CAPS has made everything easy," he said, adding that no reported problem with the system has emerged since its introduction in 2017.

On direct entry admissions, the Registrar disclosed that fraud has declined significantly in recent years as verification processes have been tightened. He confirmed that 77 cases of direct entry fraud were intercepted this cycle, but stressed that prevention had achieved far more than prosecution. Certificates presented for direct entry, including degrees from foreign Universities, are now verified directly with the awarding Institutions. "This year, we had about four or five cases where foreign Institutions reported that the degree presented was not theirs," he said.

The Registrar's message to parents is one that cuts through years of entrenched cynicism about Nigeria's University admissions process. CAPS exists, it works, and a qualified candidate no longer needs a middleman, a bribe, or a connection to secure a place. For the millions of families preparing for the outcome of the 2026 UTME, that assurance, if trusted and acted upon, could mark a genuine turning point in how Nigeria's admissions culture operates.