Amid growing anxiety over the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results, former Minister of Aviation and founder of The Athena Centre, Osita Chidoka, has called for calm, assuring students and parents that a transparent review process is underway at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
In a public statement issued on Monday, May 13, 2025, Chidoka revealed that The Athena Centre had been “inundated with messages and calls urging us to speak on the 2025 JAMB results.” While expressing gratitude for the public’s confidence in their advocacy work, he emphasized the need for restraint and fact-based commentary.
> “We deeply appreciate the growing public confidence in our work, but we believe that commentary—especially on such a sensitive national issue—must be based on evidence, not emotion or speculation,” Chidoka stated.
He explained that The Athena Centre refrained from making public statements until it had verified information. That moment came when he was invited by JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, to participate in a comprehensive review of the 2025 examination process alongside key education stakeholders.
“Today, at the invitation of the JAMB Registrar, Prof Oloyede, I had the privilege of joining other selected stakeholders, Commissioners for Education, Vice Chancellors, the Parents Teachers Association, the Computer Professionals Association of Nigeria, and Chief External Examiners, at the JAMB headquarters for a comprehensive review of the 2025 examination process,” he said.
Chidoka said he left the meeting encouraged by the transparency and rigour demonstrated by JAMB.
“JAMB has embraced transparency, rigour, and accountability in the face of serious public concern. I am proud of the open and honest process they instituted to address the technical issues that affected results in Lagos and the South East. This is the hallmark of institutional integrity and responsibility.”
One of the review highlights included the physical re-marking of randomly selected scripts, which Chidoka described as a “painstaking but necessary process.”
“It showed a commitment to truth over convenience,” he noted.
To further ensure objectivity, Chidoka disclosed that The Athena Centre, in collaboration with the Arthur Nwankwo Institute, has filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and is currently reviewing a decade’s worth of JAMB data for comparative analysis.
“We are reviewing 10 years of past results for comparative analysis with the 2025 results,” he said.
He appealed to candidates to remain patient and trust the process.
“So far, I am impressed with the review process and call on all affected candidates to remain calm and await formal communication from JAMB in the coming days.”
Chidoka concluded his statement with a broader reflection on the importance of institutional accountability and citizen vigilance.
“Our country will grow when public institutions are accountable, citizens are active, and organisations remain vigilant.”
He also acknowledged the contributions of education advocate and Educare CEO, Alex Onyia.
“I also want to thank Alex Onyia, CEO of Educare, for his consistent advocacy in the education sector and for standing firmly on the side of students and fairness.”
Chidoka urged Nigerians to foster a culture where facts, not assumptions, shape national discourse.
> “Let us build a nation where truth, not speculation, shapes our response to failure and where integrity is the foundation of reform.”
