The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has debunked criticisms by a former Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, over the early resumption time for its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

Ekwutosblog recalls that Obi in a post on his official X handle on Sunday, publicly condemned reports of JAMB asking candidates, generally teenagers, to travel to examination centres as early as 6:30 am despite security concerns.

Obi described the situation as “reckless,” citing incidents of accidents and missing candidates and blamed it on what he called Nigeia’s poor infrastructure in education.

But in a reaction, JAMB clarified that while candidates are expected to arrive by 6:30 am for verification and clearance, the examinations officially begin at 8:00 am.

According to the exam body, the early arrival was needed to prevent late-coming, which could disorganized the exercise.

“Your Excellency, I must assert that our examination is scheduled to commence at 8:00am, not 6:00 am,” JAMB wrote on X.

“While verification and other clearance processes begins at 6:30am, it is imperative that candidates are afforded adequate time to settle in before the exam begins.

“Given the tendencies often observed among Nigerians to arrive late when a start time is set without space for eventuality, this structured timeline is essential to ensure that all candidates are properly prepared and can perform to the best of their abilities.”

The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has expressed concerns over the high rate of corps members relocating from Edo to other states.

Ekwutosblog reports that the state Coordinator of the Corps, Mrs Frances Ben-Ushie, expressed the concern at the weekend during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2025 Batch ‘A’ Stream I corps members.

Ben-Ushie attributed the high rate of relocation of corps members from the state to a lack of feeding augmentation during the orientation course, as well as non-payment of State allowance to serving corps members.

According to her, lack of feeding augmentation during the orientation course, as well as non-payment of State allowance to serving corps members, had resulted in massive relocation of corps members to other states.

The Coordinator, who called on Governor Monday Okpebholo to kindly intervene in addressing the challenges, opined that resolving the challenges would greatly enhance the effectiveness of the orientation programme and other NYSC activities in the State for greater impact.

She also listed another challenge confronting corps members in the permanent orientation camp located in Okada, Ovia North-East Local Government Area as a lack of provision of annual State subvention to enhance the operations of the scheme in the scheme as stipulated in the NYSC Act.

She also called on the Edo Government to help build more hostel accommodation for corps members at the state’s permanent orientation camp.

Ben-Ushie noted that there was a need to urgently address critical infrastructure and logistical challenges affecting the smooth implementation of NYSC programmes in the state.

While also bemoaning the inadequate environment, she appealed for better workshops, laboratories, and other facilities to enhance the hands-on training for NYSC’s skills acquisition and entrepreneurship programme

“Inadequate hostel facilities for corps members and camp officials continue to pose a major challenge.

“With increasing numbers of participants each year, we urgently need expanded accommodation to ensure comfort and safety.

“We also appealed to the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo to help in resolving electricity and water challenges at the camp. These have significantly increased the operational costs of running the orientation camp.

“There is a need for the completion of the main access gate into the orientation camp as well as to provide operational vehicles for monitoring and inspection of corps members across the state.

“Unavailability of a multipurpose hall, as the dining hall is presently utilized for all hall activities.

“Lack of distinct demarcation and documentation of the extension of the camp premises which has resulted in encroachment by unauthorized individuals”, she added.

She, however, commended the state government for its continued provision of buses for the transportation of corps members to their various places of primary assignment.

In his address, the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, urged the new corps members to tap into the numerous opportunities in the state, cutting across agriculture, education, technology, entrepreneurship, and tourism.

Okpebholo, who was represented by Mrs. Aiyegbeni Balogun, the Functioning Permanent Secretary in the state’s Ministry of Youth and Humanitarian Affairs, assured the NYSC members of their welfare, safety, and security in the state.

“From the moment you arrived in Edo, we have worked diligently to ensure that the environment is conducive for you to thrive, contribute meaningfully, and enjoy a fulfilling year.

“Your contributions to Edo, whether in education, healthcare, agriculture, or community development, will have a lasting impact on our social and economic landscape.

“This is your chance not only to give back to society but leave a legacy that inspires others,” he said.

The Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections,Peter Obi, has faulted the scheduling of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

This was as he said the early start times are endangering the lives of young students.

Ekwutosblog reports that the 2025 UTME started on Thursday, April 24, 2025, and will end on Monday, May 5, 2025.

The former Anambra State governor, in a strongly worded statement on Sunday, expressed concern over reports that teenagers, many aged between 15 and 17, were being required to arrive at UTME centres as early as 6:30 am.

“These are teenagers forced to travel in the dark, often across dangerous and unfamiliar areas, just to exercise their right to education,” he said.

The philanthropist described the practice as reckless, citing reports of students being involved in road accidents, going missing, and suffering psychological trauma during the examination period.

“Who takes responsibility when a 15- or 16-year-old child disappears or is harmed while trying to access their right to education?” He queried.

He also argued that the issue reflects deeper, systemic problems within Nigeria’s education sector, particularly a lack of adequate infrastructure.

“Nigeria has just about 200 universities for a population of over 200 million people. That’s one university for every one million citizens, a staggering and deeply worrying ratio,” he added.

Obi compared Nigeria’s gross enrollment ratio of around 12 per cent with Indonesia’s 45 per cent, pointing out that the Southeast Asian country, with a population of 280 million, has over 4,000 tertiary institutions.

He, therefore, urged the federal government to significantly increase investment in education.

Obi suggested that even reaching half of Indonesia’s infrastructure, around 2,000 universities, would improve access and reduce the risk to students.

He urged a deliberate expansion of Nigeria’s education system to reflect the country’s growing population and protect the well-being of future generations.

Responding, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, attempted to distinguish between pre-test verification and actual UTME start times.

Earlier, a teenage girl was reported to have gone missing during her movement to a UTME centre in Ajah, Lagos.