UTME: Reps Ask JAMB To Suspend This Requirement For Candidates

There’s an update on the National Identity Number (NIN) requirement by JAMB for prospective candidates of the 2020 UTME. Back in September, the board’s spokesman, Fabian Benjamin, said that prospective candidates must obtain a National Identity Number (NIN) from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) if they must register for the 2020 UTME but the House of Representatives has now called on the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to suspend the policy of National Identification Number (NIN) as requirement for intending candidates.

This update came following a motion presented by Zainab Gimba (APC, Borno) who called on JAMB to review the policy on the use of NIN for prospective applicants until 2021.

Leading the debate, Gimba said it was necessary for JAMB to review the timeline pending the establishment of more enrolment centres by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) across the country. According to her, an official of NIMC had recently disclosed that, less than 20 percent of Nigerians are captured in their database. She further expressed concern that, although Nigerians turned out to be captured by NIMC,

“most have been hindered by infrastructural challenges like poor network, power failure, no power supply and sometimes inadequate manpower or equipment to attend to them”.

She suggested that, JAMB should collaborate more with NIMC, states and local governments for an efficient registration of its prospective candidates.