The father of the Anambra student who forged her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Romanus Ejikeme has appealed to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Nigerian public to forgive his daughter, expressing his regret that his daughter, Mmesoma, did not confess her wrongdoing to him earlier.
Mmesoma manually inflated her 2023 UTME score from 249 to 362. Consequently, she was awarded a scholarship from Innoson, which has now been withdrawn.
Mmesoma maintained that her result was genuine and that she printed it directly from JAMB website, despite numerous appeal from the Board. Due to are persistence, the Board imposed a three-year ban on her, which led to the House of Representatives call for a suspension of the punishment.
During an interview with the Nigeria Television Authority, (NTA) Mr. Ejikeme said, “My daughter did not confess her mistake to me promptly. Although I initially blamed her severely upon discovering the truth, I am now pleading with JAMB and Nigerians to forgive her.” Many Nigerians who previously supported Mmesoma have revoked their backing, while others have begun offering sincere apologies to the Board following her admission of guilt.
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, advocated for Mmesoma to receive counseling from another former minister, Osita Chidoka, who owns the center where Mmesoma took her UTME. Ezekwesili also appealed for leniency toward the candidate.
