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Tag: Registration

  • JAMB records decrease in number of registered candidates in 2018

    JAMB records decrease in number of registered candidates in 2018

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Wednesday said it recorded a decrease in the number of registered candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) in 2018.

    The Registrar of the Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.

    According to him, a total number of 1, 662, 762 candidates registered for the 2018 UTME, within a period of two months, as against a total of 1,718,425 candidates who registered within one month in 2017.

    He explained that the decrease of 3.2 per cent was largely, as a result of measures put in place by the board to forestall multiple registrations and other unwholesome registration practices by candidates.

    Oloyede also noted that a total of 367 visually impaired candidates registered for the 2018 examination as against the 201 candidates of 2017.

    He said that the board will continue to provide all necessary support and logistics to the physically challenged candidates in order to encourage them to attain their pursuit for knowledge.

    According to the registrar, the board recorded a pleasantly high number of candidates for the 2018 UTME examinations from foreign countries.

    He, however, said that the board was yet to get the actual statistics from the various embassies, adding that those who applied for the examinations would commence after the local centres have concluded.

    On admissions, the registrar said that the board has since concluded the 2017 admissions into tertiary institutions.

    He said that the admission was conducted using the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), automated the admission platform and provided the candidates with the opportunity to track their admissions.

    According to him, this system ensure strict adherence to admission guidelines thereby creating equity and fairness in admission and was responsible for timely completion of the admission.

    “The 2017 admissions statistics shows that 1,840,225 candidates applied for the 2017 UTME and Direct Entry (DE).

    “A total of 1,187,997 candidates out of the above met the minimum cut-off points for the 2017 admission of which 842,505 possess the minimum O’level requirement and cut-off points.”

    He reiterated that the board was ready to move on with its scheduled academic calendar as that was the right thing to do, as such, candidates who were unable to complete their 2017 admission process should not hold JAMB responsible.

    The registrar also described as fraudulent, those who engaged in multiple registrations.

    He said that the board have put measures in place through its enhanced registration process and would not relent in its efforts to tackle and stop any act that may aid examination malpractice.

    He, however, said “the official position today is that candidates do not need to pick the two forms; if you apply for UTME and you have enhanced qualifications, you just upgrade to the next level at no cost.”

    Oloyede further said that the board has concluded all arrangements for it activities for the 2019 exercise and a calendar has since been released on its website.

    This, he explained, was because the board targets to work towards assisting other concerned stakeholders to have a reliable academic calendar for tertiary institutions.

    “The academic session in tertiary institutions statutorily begins in August and we will ensure that we conclude all admission exercise by that time.

    “If any institution does not resume early, it will not be due to delay in the admission process,” he said.

    Speaking on the boards level of preparedness for the scheduled 2018 UTME examinations, Oloyede said that about 6, 500 permanent and ad hoc staff were deployed to the 605 centres across the country.

    He noted that each centre would be manned by 10 officials, which would include external examiners, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and security officers.

    He appreciated the support from various stakeholders in the education sector as well as the Federal Government.

    The registrar also commended the Media for their consistent efforts in sensitising the public about the board’s efforts to change the narratives of tertiary education in the country.

  • 80 Political parties seek registration ahead of 2019 – INEC

    80 Political parties seek registration ahead of 2019 – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday said that 80 political parties submitted applications for registration ahead of the 2019 elections.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this known on Tuesday at the Fourth Situation Room Stakeholders Forum on Elections, organised by a coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there are currently 67 political parties already registered.

    Yakubu, who was represented by Dr AdeKunle Ogunmola, a National Commissioner at INEC, said that the commission was also being asked to register independent candidates for the elections.

    “As it is today, 80 more groups are seeking registration as political parties.

    “We will continue to register them until the time scheduled by the Electoral Act for us to stop.

    “The issue of Independent candidacy is still there too.

    “Right now, we are thinking of how to design our ballot papers to take care of all the registered political parties.

    “So far, the hardest was the Anambra election, where 37 political parties fielded candidates,’’ the chairman said.

    Yakubu said the commission was determined to ensure that the 2019 elections were free, fair and credible.

    He added that INEC would give special attention to the voters’ register.

    Mr Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, said the electoral process in Nigeria remained deeply contentious and weak in spite of remarkable reforms in the system.

    Malami, who was also represented by Mrs Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reform, said the Federal Executive Council had set-up an implementation committee on the report of the electoral reform committee.

    He said that the committee, headed by the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osibanjo, would develop a white paper on the report of the Sen. Ken Nnamani-led committee.

    He spoke on the need to finalise preparation for the 2019 general elections, with just about one year to go.

    Malami said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to improve on the gains made in previous elections and has taken several steps to strengthen the INEC.

    According to him, the government has ensured that INEC is able to operate as an independent and credible umpire.

    The convener of the Situation Room, Mr Clement Nwankwo, said the country had witnessed some improvement in the nation’s electoral process.

    Nwankwo said that the integrity of INEC had improved since 2011.

    “The hope is that looking towards 2019, it will improve further,’’ he said.

    The convener, however, said that there were challenges of money politics.

    “Looking ahead, we see that INEC has the determination, the integrity and the possibility to ensure that 2019 elections will be an improvement.

    “The electoral process is in the hands of INEC and every other person is supposed to facilitate INEC’s work, including security services, CSOs and political parties.’’

  • 120 political associations seek INEC registration ahead of 2019 elections

    120 political associations seek INEC registration ahead of 2019 elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has received over 120 applications from political associations seeking registration as political parties ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in his keynote address during the induction retreat for resident electoral commissioners in Uyo on Friday, said the number of political parties would increase after the commission had processed outstanding applications.

    He said, “The commission has received over 120 applications from political associations seeking registration as political parties. Already, there are 46 registered political parties and recently a court of law ordered the commission to register one more association as political party.

    “Obviously by the time the commission processes outstanding applications, the number of political parties and independent candidates as contained in the proposed constitutional amendments awaiting the concurrence of state assemblies, will increase.”

    The chairman said that 3,630,529 new voters had been registered in its continuous voter registration exercise.

    He noted that the CVR is an important exercise, which he said would continue till 60 days to the 2019 general elections.

    On card readers, Yakubu said that technical reports from recent elections indicated that the incidence of card readers malfunction had dropped, adding that in the last Anambra governorship election, there were reported cases of outright malfunction of card readers in 106 polling units and voting points.

    He, however, assured Nigerians that the commission had been working hard to ensure 100 per cent performance of the card readers.

    He added, “It is important for us to have an accurate idea of the possible locations of hot spots and peddlers of hate speech, discuss these with security agencies and examine ways to address them well before the election.”

    The Akwa Ibom State resident electoral commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini, said the retreat would afford the newly appointed RECs and old ones the opportunities to share experiences.

    Also, the Country Director, United Nations Development Programme, Dr. Samuel Bwaya, congratulated the new RECs for being called to serve their fatherland, urging them to uphold the virtues that qualified them for the job.

    Bwalya, however, noted that despite the progress made so far in institutionalising credible elections, the country was still confronted with challenges in the electoral process, including hate speeches, violence, poor internal democracy among political parties, low level of accountability and transparency within political institutions, among others.

    He said if unchecked, the challenges could derail the progress towards attaining long-lasting democratic governance.

  • Registration for direct entry admission ends Sept 15 – JAMB

    The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it will shut down its Direct Entry admission e-registration portal on Sept.15.

    Head of Media and Information of the board, Dr Fabian Benjaminsaid this in an interview with newsmen in an interview in Abuja on Friday.

    Benjamin urged the prospective candidates for the direct entry admission to register before the deadline, saying that the board might not extend the deadline.

    He also advised the UTME candidates to re-upload their O’ Level results in the JAMB new portal as the one previously used did not allow for the capturing of candidates O’ Level grades.

    He further said that the candidates should use JAMB’s approved Computer Based Test (CBT) centres for the exercise.

    According to him, the new portal has provided a platform for the detailed categories of West African Examination (WAEC) results of candidates for proper placement.

    “The first platform that was used for the exercise did not create room for the capturing of the levels of grades such as C4, C5, C6, B1, B2, B3 and A1.

    “You know in some schools, all these O’ level grades are considered.

    “You may have a B1 and another candidate has a B3. If there is no room for separating the grades in the platform, schools may not be able to ascertain the levels of grades.

    “The first platform just stated “A”, “B”, “C”. So with this new platform, there will be room for the download of the levels of grades.

    “Somebody who has a B1 will stand a better chance than the person with a B3.

    “So, we use this new platform to capture all those detailed categories of WAEC result so that no grade of result will be left uploaded.’’

    Benjamin, however, added that any candidate who felt that what he or she uploaded earlier was enough might not bother.

     

     

    NAN

  • 2019: Why we are registering more political parties – INEC

    2019: Why we are registering more political parties – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why it is registering more political parties ahead of the 2019 elections.

    The electoral umpire explained that it has the resources to manage more political parties with the current 45 already registered.

    The chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu revealed this in an interview with The Guardian.

    In his words: “We have 45 political parties today, but remember that we had 60 parties before the last general election in 2015. In many countries less well-endowed than we are, you hear about 100 or more political parties.

    “And so, given our population, diversity and number of constituencies, the number of political parties we have at the moment and possibly more parties to be registered before the next general elections can be effectively managed by INEC.

    “As you can see, the number of parties we have in relation to our diversity is not too much to handle,” Yakubu explained.

    He added that a multi-party or plural democracy should not restrict the number of political parties stressing, “as the saying goes, the more the merrier. Ultimately, citizens are the beneficiaries because they will be offered greater opportunity for choice.”

  • We are registering only corporate taxpayers for TIN – FIRS

    …Says it no longer registers individuals for TIN

    Mr Wahab Gbadamosi, the Public Relations Officer, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says the service presently registers only corporate taxpayers for issuance of Tax Identification Number (TIN).

    Gbadamosi, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday, said the service no longer registers individuals for issuance of TIN.

    He said the development was due to the directive by the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to stop collection of Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Abuja.

    “The FIRS no longer registers individuals for TIN, we only register corporate taxpayers.

    “We used to capture individuals in Abuja when we were collecting PIT for FCT.

    “We operate like a state in Abuja but about two months ago, the Senate Committee on FCT, chaired by Sen. Dino Melaye directed that the FCT minister should set up the FIRS board to take over collection of taxes in Abuja,’’ Gbadamosi said.

    According to him, the Joint Tax Board (JTB) has a provision for issuing TIN and can issue TIN to individual taxpayers.

    According to him, JTB is an umbrella body for states.

    He said that if anyone wants to obtain individual TIN can go to JTB office in Asokoro, FCT to register and obtain TIN.

    Gbadamosi added if anyone registered for individual TIN in Lagos or other state and have not been issued TIN, can also visit JTB Asokoro.

    The Spokesperson urged individuals who want to register for TIN to check JTB website, adding that they don’t need to go to any tax office as there were processes of obtaining TIN.

    “It is not possible that one registers for TIN and was not given. If you registered in Lagos or any other state, you will be given TIN immediately.

    “If you were truly captured in any state and was not given TIN, then visit JTB office

    “TIN is unique to a corporate entity or individual. Once you have it, it is okay for any part of the country,’’ he added.

    According to him, the use of TIN is primarily for everyone whether private or corporate, as the use of TIN is not only for civil servants but cuts across.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the taxpayer TIN is an electronic system for taxpayers’ registration nationwide in Nigeria, and it is unique to an identified taxpayer for life.

     

     

     

    NAN

     

  • UTME 2017: Interested candidates can still register – JAMB

    UTME 2017: Interested candidates can still register – JAMB

    …denies rumour of marks deduction

    The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has confirmed that interested applicants can still register for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    Oloyede made this statement during his visit to a CBT centre in Lagos.

    He said he got a mandate from the Senate few weeks ago to increase the UTME registration period by one month, which would lapse on May 28 when the board will finally close its registration portal.

    “As I speak, we have registered additional 1,100 candidates,” he said.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that JAMB had released 1,048,914 results out of the 1,648,429 candidates writing the ongoing UTME.

    The Registrar also said the candidates have not done badly going by the results released so far, and said that fingerprints may no longer be required in subsequent UTME registrations.

    Meanwhile, the examination body has denied rumour of deductions in candidates’ marks in the ongoing exam.

    Dr Fabian Benjamin, the Head of JAMB Information and Media, denied the reports in a statement in Abuja.

    According to Benjamin, the rumour is false, devilish and a ploy to cause disaffection among candidates who participated in the 2017 UTME.

    “It is no longer news that all our centres have CCTV camera and we have watched all proceedings at the Computer Based Test (CBT) centres across the nation.

    “Those involved in any infraction will be sanctioned in accordance with the provision of the Examination Malpractice Act.

    “The board has not deducted any marks from any candidate and is not contemplating doing that as it is not a condition for sanction in any of the provisions of the law against malpractice.

    “Again, we call on all candidates to be mindful of fraudulent characters who will send misleading information to create panic and take advantage of the situation to defraud them”.

    Benjamin said that the examinations had so far been conducted for 1,698,835 candidates and that the remaining 19950 would sit for the examination on Saturday, May 20.

    He said that the board would conclude the ongoing examination on Saturday, May 20, and examination results were being released for candidates to check, except on Friday and Saturday.

    Benjamin said that report that candidates, who could not check their results because they owed JAMB some money, was also false.

    He advised candidates not to pay any money to anybody as their results had already been sent to their mails and on the JAMB website: http://www.jamb.org.ng

    Benjamin advised candidates to login to check the result with their registration number or with email address to print.

    He urged candidates with any challenge not to hesitate to contact the board or check the organisation’s Website for detailed information and numbers for enquiries.

     

  • 2019 elections: 91 groups seek registration with INEC

    Not fewer than 91 political associations have approached the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, applying to be registered as political parties ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Although the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, had said at the stakeholders’ validation conference on the 2017 INEC’s Strategic Plan in Abuja on March 20, 2017, that the commission had received 87 applications for party registration, the figure has increased by four.

    Currently, the country has a total of 40 registered political parties.

    The Director of Voter Education and Publicity of INEC, Mr. Oluwole Osage-Uzi, confirmed to our correspondent on the telephone on Wednesday that 16 out of 91 associations had paid the compulsory N1m

    He said, “91 political associations have signified interest to be registered as political parties and N16 of them have paid the compulsory N1m

    “Also, 12 of them have been verified and verification is ongoing.”

    The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, urged the political associations to give the commission time to follow due process of party registration.

    Oyekanmi said in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday that the commission would not be stampeded into taking decisions as it was bound to follow the processes.

    He stated, “Without prejudice to what is going on, parties need to give some time. And I am sure that when you pay, there is a process political parties would have to go through. INEC has a set of rules and regulations; they have to check so many things, they have to check the applications and these things take time.

  • 2019: ADP confirms payment of N1m registration fee to INEC

    2019: ADP confirms payment of N1m registration fee to INEC

    As the 2019 election year draws nearer, promoters of political parties have commenced the compulsory registration process with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that one of such proposed political party is Action Democratic Party, ADP which claims to have paid the mandatory N1m to the electoral umpire.

    A top member of the party, Dr. James Okoroma, whose name was forwarded to the commission as the National Secretary of the party, told newsmen that the ADP paid the compulsory fee in January this year.

    The Punch reports that Okoroma stated that the ADP also fulfilled the requirement for the submission of the list of its National Working Committee members to the commission in January.

    He said a team sent from the commission visited the ADP’s headquarters in Asokoro, Abuja, and concluded its verification for the process of the registration of the party in February.

    Okoroma added that the ADP was only waiting for its certificate of registration from INEC.

    According to him, members of the ADP National Working Committee, whose names were on the list submitted to INEC, are Yagbaji Sani (National Chairman), Mr. David Bichi, (National Legal Adviser), a former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Rex Onyeabo (National Chairman, South-East), a former Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Nojeem Awodele (National Vice Chairman, South West), and others.

    Okoroma said the planned party had several prominent politicians including senators, former ministers and others across the country.

    In his words: “Yes, that one (N1m) is mandatory. When you want to register, for you to pick up the form, you make that payment. And they (INEC) have done their verification, they have done everything.

    “They have come to verify our place, our structures, offices and the rest. We are just awaiting the certificate. We have offices in close to 30 states now; we even have local government and ward offices in some states.

    “We paid in January, submitted the list and they came for verification in February. They have done their verification. They came, they sent a team to our national headquarters and did their verification and they promised that they would do their work.”

    He said it was important to have a vibrant political party in the country as there was no longer what could be referred to as an opposition party in the country.

    However, when contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, could not confirm the claim that the ADP had fulfilled the conditions for registration.

    He said that he could not reach officials with the information to speak on the issue.

  • Just in: JAMB suspends 2017 UTME registration for 52 hours

    Just in: JAMB suspends 2017 UTME registration for 52 hours

    Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Abuja on Friday announced the suspension of registration for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for 52 hours.

    The decision was aimed at preventing any disruption during the conduct of the UTME mock examinations scheduled for Saturday.

    The examination body, which put the suspension hour between 8:00pm on April 7 (Friday) and 12:00am on April 10 (Monday), said one million candidates have registered for the exam so far.

    The Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who made the announcement at a press briefing in Abuja, however said candidates could also go to banks, NIPOST, Interswitch or Remita to procure PINs for registration on Monday.

    According to him, there will be no sale of forms, registration and biometric capturing at the various centres in which the mock examinations would take place.

    ‎He said the mock examinations for interested candidates taking place on Saturday was intended to familiarise the candidates with the Computer-Based Test systems and generally forecast the challenges that may surface in order to proactively address them.

    Oloyede reassured the candidates that there was no need for worry or anxiety; adding that in the next one week, eligible and interested applicants will be successfully registered, as, already, 1,000,000 applicants have successful registered.

    While regretting all inconveniences caused as a result of the temporary closure of registration activities, the JAMB CEO assured everyone of the possibility of an extension of registration date‎, as, according to him, every applicant must be carried along.

    He said, ‎”Saturday April 8 , 2017 has been set aside for the Mock UTME. To seamlessly achieve this, the Board has s‎uspended all activities relating to the registration exercise in any CBT centre from 8pm today, being Friday April 7 2017 and to resume on Monday April 10 2017.

    ‎”There will be no sale of forms, registration and biometric capturing at the various centres in which the Mock Examinations are taking place. This however does not preclude any candidate from going to Banks, NIPOST, interswitch or Remita to procure pins for registration on Monday. This is to prevent any disruption of the process and conduct of the Mock Examination.

    “The Mock Examinations are intended to familiarize our candidates with the CBT systems and generally forecast the challenges that may be faced ahead in order to proactively address them. It is just a rehearsal for us and candidates who want to experience the situation to expect during the actual examinations.

    “Therefore, the sale of forms, registration and biometrics at CBT centres are to be suspended from 8:00 p.m. today till Monday, April 10, 2017. This notice is for the strict adherence of our officers and partners throughout the federation.

    ‎”While wishing the candidates and officials participating in the examination a successful mock exercise, we once again re-assure the candidates that there is no need for worry or anxiety. In the next one week, we believe it will be sufficient to capture the remaining candidates as about 1,000,000 applicants have successful registered.

    “No one will be left behind as the deadline may be extended if there are applicants who do not succeed at registering due to circumstances beyond their control.”