The Anambra State government has said it had already uncovered that Mmesoma’s purported ‘outstanding’ result was false long before the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) made its announcement.
Verified Gist reports that the state government revealed that the candidate who boasted of achieving the highest score in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was actually parading a forged result.
This development comes after JAMB declared its intention to nullify the result of Ejikeme Mmesoma, who had manually inflated her scores and declared herself the top scorer for the 2023 UTME. JAMB further accused Mmesoma of this deceitful act in order to qualify for a lucrative N3 million scholarship from Innoson Motors.
The Anambra State government had also intended to honour her for the feat before the truth came to light.
Responding to JAMB’s statement, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, the State Commissioner for Education, addressed journalists in Awka, stating that the government had already ascertained the falseness of Mmesoma’s claims.
She said the government made the decision to bestow the honors upon Nkechinyere Umeh, an alternative candidate who had obtained a score of 360 in the examination.
Meanwhile, Innoson Motors, the sponsor of the scholarship, has maintained that it will conduct an independent investigation into the matter.
Cornel Osigwe, the head of Communication for Innoson Motors, emphasizlsed the company’s commitment to uncovering the truth. He stated that if their investigation reveals that Mmesoma did not manipulate her result, she will still be eligible for the scholarship. However, if she is found guilty of the accusations, the scholarship will be withdrawn.
He said, “We’re doing our independent investigation on the issue of manipulation, if we found that the girl in question willfully manipulated her result, we shall withdraw the scholarship, but if we observe she is innocent of the accusation, then the scholarship stands, whether she is the best or not.”
