Editorial: Ishaq Oloyede's remarkable leadership transforms Nigeria's JAMB

Professor Ishaq Oloyede is being lauded for his significant and transformative stewardship as the Registrar of Nigeria's Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Appointed in August 2016, Oloyede's tenure has been marked by radical reforms, innovations, and a strong emphasis on accountability and integrity, pulling JAMB out of a mire his predecessors had allegedly plunged it into.

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Nigerians rarely offer valediction to public servants when they leave office. But Professor Ishaq Oloyede... has been receiving it in torrents for his transformative stewardship.

One of Oloyede's most striking achievements has been the dramatic increase in revenue surplus remitted to the Federation's Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). In 2017, JAMB remitted ₦7.86 billion, a stark contrast to the average of a mere ₦3 million annually before his appointment. By 2022, JAMB had remitted a total of ₦50 billion over six years. This unprecedented revenue generation occurred even as Oloyede reduced the cost of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms by ₦1,500, from ₦5,000 to ₦3,500, easing the financial burden on candidates and their parents.

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His first clean break with the examination body’s notorious past was in the 2017 remittance of a whopping ₦7.86 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federation as revenue surplus.

The stark difference in JAMB's financial performance under Oloyede compared to his predecessors prompted President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate. These investigations have led to 18 charges filed against his predecessor, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, since 2021, though the legal process has reportedly been slow.

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Remarkably, this unprecedented revenue haul came amid Mr Oloyede’s slash of ₦1,500 from the ₦5,000 that candidates used to pay for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms, to their parents’ relief.

Beyond financial reforms, Oloyede also focused on enhancing the integrity and public perception of the UTME. He consolidated the use of Computer Based Tests (CBT), effectively ending the paper-based examination system, which was prone to inefficiency and fraud. The CBT system's varied question formats make it significantly harder for candidates to cheat, as those sitting next to each other receive different questions and answer options. Oloyede's leadership has been proactive in addressing attempts to circumvent the system and perpetuate cheating.

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The beauty of the CBT system is in its variedness of questions; hence, candidates sitting next to one another have no clue about each other’s questions or multiple-choice answer options.