Fake UMTE result saga: Mmesoma’s father, principal call for thourogh investigation

From Ifeoma Ejiofor

The family and school authority of 16-year-old girl, Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme, the highest scorer in the 2023 Unified Matriculation Tertiary Examination (UMTE), have demanded immediate release of findings of fake result saga under investigation.

Recall that Mmesoma recently became a celebrity after her 362 UTME score went viral as the overall best scorer in the 2023 UTME examination, now under investigation by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) which conducts the UTME, had declared Mmesoma’s 362 UTME score as fake, revealing that her score was manually inflated, as her original score was 249. JAMB also announced the immediate withdrawal of Mmesoma’s UTME score.

Reacting, Mr Romanus Ejikeme, the girl’s father and her school principal, Mrs Egum Uchechukwu said that Mmesoma is a brilliant child, calling for thorough investigation on the matter so as not destroy her life and tarnish her educational pursuit.

They jointly call on the DSS to release result of its finding on the allegation, wondering why JAMB went to the social media to dent the girl’s image without allowing DSS conclude investigation.

“My daughter started taking first position in her class right from nursery school, and continued even in her secondary school career at Girls Secondary School, Oba, Anambra state. Now, at Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, she is still take first position in her class in the senior class.

“Her ordeal started when in JAMB result this year, she scored 362 and became the overall best. She did not even know, but was informed by those who saw it online.

“She was even confused because she did not know the outcome of the score before people started congratulating her, calls from everywhere, then she went to check her result and saw her score that she had the overall score.

“Celebration was everywhere that my daughter has made it, but this is the fate she later found herself. They sent DSS after her, using the outcome of the result to intimidate her and the entire family,” Ejikeme said.

He debunked the statement from the Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh that his daughter came to her ministry late when she was invited on Friday (June 30, 2023).

“She went with her school officials to the State Ministry of Education, Awka on time on same date on invitation. We find out that Miss Nkechinyere Umeh, who scored 360, was honoured, and not her that scored 362. She did not delay, we got to Awka on time.

“At the Commissioner’s office, we discovered that DSS was already invited into the matter,” Ejikeme said.

Collaborating the Mmesoma’s father statement, her school principal, Mrs Egum Uchechukwu also called for thorough investigation into the matter to clear the girl’s image.

“Let DSS do their investigation and tell us. The Commissioner for Education should help to follow up the investigation, we were in her office, and the issue of DSS came up.

“I won’t allow her to suffer because she is a good girl. They promised to investigate the case, let them do their investigation. We made a statement, giving them necessary information,” she said.

Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, Commissioner for Education had last weekend insisted that Nkechinyere Umeh who scored 360 is the best in JAMB result and so honoured.

“The person we are honouring is Nkechinyere, who scored 360, I read in the Facebook that Mmesoma scored 362. It took Mmesoma time to bring her result to my office, by that time people were already calling us that we are trying to honour the wrong person.

“Eventually she came to my office, brought her result and DSS pick her up from my office. We already honoured the right person, Nkechinyere Umeh who scored 360.

“But this girl came claiming that she scored 362. On inquiry, I had to invite her and her principal to my office, when they came to my office I called JAMB who said they discovered that what she had was not the real result,” Chuma-Udeh said.