WorldStage– As the curtain drops on Professor Ishaq Oloyede’s tenure as Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Friday, July 31, 2026 after a watershed 10-year tenure, he is leaving the apex examination body with a template of vastly reformed, highly transparent, and technology-driven institution that completely reshaped tertiary admissions in Nigeria.
With Oloyede returning to teaching and religious activities, the baton passes to Professor Aina. Aina, the youngest registrar in JAMB’s history, has pledged a continuous fight against fraud using evolving security systems.
Oloyede, who was first appointed in 2016, formally handed over leadership to Professor Segun Aina, a 39-year-old expert in computer engineering appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
Before Oloyede’s arrival, JAMB was crippled by widespread corruption, structural inefficiencies, and systemic examination malpractice. His administration rapidly overhauled operations by placing advanced technology at the center of university admissions.
Under his leadership, JAMB successfully operationalized the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) – a digital portal ensuring absolute fairness, letting candidates monitor admission decisions online in real time; advanced biometrics and CCTV verification that featured live monitoring infrastructure designed to eradicate identity fraud and dismantle illicit “special centers”; unified digital payment tools – a seamless ecosystem utilizing e-PINS and USSD platforms to eliminate physical cash handling; and fiscal transparency and integrity.
Beyond digitalization, Oloyede became a symbol of public service integrity. In sharp contrast to past eras, his administration remitted over N55 billion to the Federal Government treasury.
He achieved this monumental feat while simultaneously easing the financial burden on Nigerian families by slashing the price of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) form from N5,000 to N3,500.
During his valedictory address, titled “History Made, Future Beckons,” Oloyede noted that his greatest achievement was leaving the board far better than he met it.
He also staunchly defended his past uncompromising stances on exam integrity, including the highly publicized 2023 sanction of candidate Mmesoma Ejikeme, stating it was vital to protect the institutional credibility of the board.
Oloyede’s tenure was not entirely without friction. The twilight of his second term was tested by infrastructure strains, including severe technical server disruptions during the 2025 and 2026 UTME cycles.
Also, fraud within the examination space evolved rapidly into complex, Artificial Intelligence-driven biometric manipulation.
The new Registrar, Prof. Aina now faces the challenge of maintaining high operational and financial standards set by outgoing registrar Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who transformed the agency into a high-revenue, credible institution.
He must now address sophisticated AI-driven examination fraud, persistent CBT system glitches, and inflationary pressures on operational costs.
He also faces the immediate dual challenge of managing skyrocketing operational costs without raising examination fees, keeping the rigid standard of excellence intact.
