Former minister not giving up on Mmesoma, says 'I will still beg JAMB'

A former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has refused to withdraw his offer to beg the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for leniency for Mmesoma Ejikeme Joy, even after the candidate had confessed to forging her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result.

Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, had caused a national ruckus after claiming to have scored the highest mark of 362 in this year's UTME examination.

The purported result placed her as the best UTME candidate of the year and she was so celebrated until JAMB announced that the result she's parading was obtained through a fraudulent means.

The exam body further disclosed that Mmesoma actually scored 249; subsequently nullified the result and also barred her from taking its mandatory examination for intending undergraduates for three years.

Though the candidate initially put up a fight, insisting that her result was obtained from JAMB's result portal, she later confessed to a committee set up by the Anambra State government that she used her phone to manipulate the result.

Chidoka still wants to beg JAMB for pardon

Recall Chidoka had on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, pledged to beg JAMB for leniency on the one condition that Mmesoma will come clean with the source of her result.

The former minister, who also owns the Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre where the candidate sat for her examination, asked her to explain how she got the result and “who led her down that path”. 

“If she does that, I will lend my voice to beg JAMB to note her age and show more leniency,” Chidoka said.

However, in a statement made available to the press on Saturday, July 8, 2023, the former Minister restated his desire to intercede for the pupil.

He said, “My offer to plead with JAMB still stands and I will do so.”

He also cautioned the people to be mindful of her young age and work towards using the experience as a teaching moment. 

“Castigating her will be counterproductive. I believe in justice and also in mercy and restoration,” he said.