UTME score: Our N3 million scholarship remains if Mmesoma Ejike is innocent, says Innoson
By Emma Ogbuehi
The management of Innoson Automobile Company, says the N3 million scholarship awarded to Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme will stand if found to be innocent of the allegation by JAMB of result manipulation.
Cornel Osigwe, Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group, stated this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Onitsha.
NAN reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), had accused Ejikeme of using a software to manipulate her score to 362 as against 249.
According to Osigwe, it is strange to hear from JAMB that Ejikeme manipulated her result.
READ ALSO:
“It is strange to us because we did our independent verification and found out that Mmesoma Ejikeme actually scored 362, when we printed her result.
“When it was claimed that she was the highest, we waited for JAMB to come and clarify it, but they did not and the media was publishing that she was the highest.
“We also waited to see if there was going to be a counter claim, but since there was no counter claim, we awarded her the scholarship as the highest scorer.
“On Sunday, it was reported that JAMB claimed that she manipulated her result. We are doing our independent investigation as we speak to know if she actually manipulated her result or the fault was from JAMB.
“If we find out that the girl actually manipulated her result for obvious reasons, we will withdraw the scholarship.
“But if we find out that the mistake was actually from JAMB; that they were the ones that awarded her the score, or probably did a review and found out that her actual score was 249, then our scholarship will still stand.”
Osigwe advised Ejikeme not to panic during this period of investigation, saying that they have the capacity to carry out proper investigation to unravel the truth.
He further stressed that if they find out that she is innocent of the allegation, whether she scored the highest or not, the scholarship will still stand. (NAN)
JAMB had while announcing the confusion on Mmesoma’s score, threatened to withdraw her actual results for allegedly falsely announcing herself as the top-scorer of the computer-based test used to rank candidates seeking admissions into Nigerian universities.
According to the Board, Miss Mmesoma’s actual score in the test was 249 and not the 362 she claimed to have scored.
The Board stated: “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media celebrating certain candidates for being high scorers in the 2023 UTME.
“The Board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake.”
JAMB said the candidate’s ‘fake result’ was exposed when a top official of the Anambra State Government reached out to JAMB for confirmation of the claim ahead of a planned honour.
