JAMB Says 2026 UTME Postponement Report Is Fake
A false press release claiming the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination had been postponed is circulating online, and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has moved swiftly to shut it down, warning over two million candidates not to be misled.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the board described the circulating notice as malicious and categorically disowned it.
“Our attention has been drawn to the malicious press release stating that the 2026 UTME has been postponed. The general public, particularly the candidates, are by this notice informed that the press release is fake and did not emanate from us. Kindly disregard it. All activities on the 2026 UTME continue as scheduled,” the board stated.
JAMB had earlier confirmed that the main 2026 UTME is scheduled to run from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, April 25, 2026.
The board’s clarification comes at a sensitive period in the examination cycle, just days after the conduct of the mock examination.
The 2026 UTME Mock examination was conducted on Saturday, March 28, across 989 accredited Computer-Based Test centres nationwide.
However, the exercise was not without hitches. Thousands of candidates were affected by server failures, power outages, and delayed start times at several CBT centres, leaving students stranded for hours.
Of the 224,597 candidates who registered for the mock examination, only 152,586 successfully participated in the exercise.
In response to the technical failures recorded, JAMB delisted over 20 CBT centres from its list of approved facilities, citing technical inadequacies during the mock test.
Over 2.2 million candidates are expected to sit the main UTME this year, a prerequisite for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The scale of the exercise makes the spread of misinformation particularly dangerous, as a single false notice can trigger widespread panic among candidates and their families.
Beyond the fake postponement notice, JAMB also flagged a separate fraud scheme targeting candidates. The board cautioned candidates against fraudulent individuals and groups, particularly on WhatsApp, who claim they can manipulate or inflate examination scores.
“Such claims are false and criminal. Any candidate found engaging in these activities risks cancellation of registration or withholding of results,” JAMB warned.
The 2025 UTME had been marred by technical glitches affecting nearly 380,000 candidates in 157 centres, alongside cases of identity and biometric fraud, as well as leaked questions and irregularities at several centres, a troubled precedent that has made both the board and candidates more anxious ahead of this year’s examination.
JAMB has urged all 2026 UTME candidates to rely exclusively on official board communications and to verify any news through its official channels before acting on it.