Governor Charles Soludo has requested an investigation into the dispute surrounding a student’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE) results from Anambra State.
Ejikeme Mmesoma, a student at Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra State, was exposed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for allegedly inflating her score and declaring herself the top candidate for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
She received a N3 million scholarship for her “exploit” from Innocent Chukwuma, the founder of Innoson Motors.
Mmesoma declared herself the nation’s top candidate after revealing that she scored 362 in this year’s UTME.
She would also receive recognition from the Anambra state government for purportedly winning the competition.
However, JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin confirmed in a statement on Sunday that the student actually achieved a 249 on the test.
Benjamin stated that her grade will be retracted and the student would be prosecuted.
Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, the commissioner for education in Anambra State, said in a statement on Monday that the state government had established a panel of inquiry to investigate the commotion.
“A panel of inquiry has been set up to work with security agents to investigate the allegation of falsification of result levelled against Mmesoma Ejikeme, who had earlier been showcased in the social media as having scored the highest.”
The commissioner described the girl’s exam situation as unpleasant, “especially considering Governor Chukwuma Soludo is repositioning the education sector in Anambra State.”
She did, however, praise Nkechinyere Umeh, who JAMB had deemed the national top scorer in the 2023 UTME with a total score of 360.
Ejikeme Mmesoma, charged with fabricating her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE) score, has now spoken out.
When she spoke on Monday, the student claimed to have printed her score from the JAMB portal and said she could not forge it.
She claimed to have excelled in school her entire life and had won first place in primary school.
Mmesoma claimed that she was informed that the inquiry was ongoing and invited to the police station, where her statement was obtained.
She added that “there must be problem somewhere” after feeling scared by the event.
