The outgoing Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has described leaving the agency better than he met it as the greatest achievement of his 10-year tenure.

Oloyede stated this on Friday at the JAMB headquarters in Abuja during the formal handover of the affairs of the board to his successor, Prof. Segun Aina.

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin was first appointed JAMB registrar by former President Muhammadu Buhari on August 9, 2016, and was reappointed for a second term in August 2021.

Reflecting on his decade-long stewardship, Oloyede said the transformation of JAMB through reforms in staff welfare, discipline, technology, transparency and partnerships remained a major accomplishment.

“I did not leave JAMB worse than I met it is my greatest achievement,” he said.

According to him, his administration was guided by five cardinal principles — welfare, discipline, technology, transparency and networking — which he said formed the foundation of the reforms implemented during his tenure.

“When I took over the mandate of leadership at JAMB, I outlined five cardinal points that my Administration would be anchored on in ‘Let’s Do It Together: The Biggest Room in the World’,” he said.

“These cardinal points are welfare, discipline, technology, transparency and networking. In these five, though perfection belongs to the Almighty Allah, I can confidently say we tried our best.”

On staff welfare, Oloyede said the board committed more than N8 billion to strengthening employees’ retirement savings and financial security, while retiring workers received between N3 million and N10 million as “retirement handshakes.”

He also disclosed that JAMB introduced a 13th-month salary, increased examination duty incentives from 10 per cent to 20 per cent and provided free daily meals for staff.

The outgoing registrar said the board further supported staff requiring medical intervention, citing a case in which an employee received N12 million for treatment at the National Hospital in Abuja.

He said outstanding workers were also rewarded with cash and recognition, while a JAMB zonal office and a complex of Professional Testing Centres and Professional Registration Centres were named after a staff member in recognition of exceptional service.

Oloyede said the welfare drive also benefited candidates, noting that JAMB reduced the cost of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination application by 30 per cent.

The board, he added, also distributed about N750 million annually to tertiary institutions through the NATAPM Award.

Despite its focus on welfare, Oloyede said his administration maintained a strict disciplinary regime, with more than 10 members of staff prosecuted at different times over alleged misconduct.

He recalled the 2017 controversy involving a JAMB staff member in Benue who claimed that a snake had swallowed N36 million generated from the sale of scratch cards.

“The sensationalised case of a snake gulping N36 million that the media feasted on was just one of the measures taken to entrench discipline,” Oloyede said.

He said the disciplinary measures contributed to the board’s improved financial accountability and its remittance of billions of naira in operational surpluses to the Federal Government.

On technology, Oloyede said his administration introduced several reforms aimed at strengthening the credibility and efficiency of JAMB’s examinations and admission processes.

Among the initiatives, he listed the expansion of computer-based testing, improvement of the board’s digital architecture, the Central Admissions Processing System, advanced biometric and identity verification, CCTV monitoring, digital PINs and payments, and the Remote Authoring and Moderation System.

He also cited institutional digital transformation and the Bring-Your-Device initiative as part of efforts to modernise the board’s operations.

However, Oloyede acknowledged that technology was not without limitations, referring to the technical problems experienced during the 2025 UTME, which triggered widespread criticism and forced JAMB to reschedule examinations for thousands of candidates.

He said the incident demonstrated that technological systems could fail and underscored the need for constant vigilance.

On his transparency agenda, Oloyede said JAMB’s achievements were also enabled by collaboration with key stakeholders, including state governors, the National Security Adviser, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency and the Inspector-General of Police.

President Bola Tinubu had in May appointed Aina, a professor of computer science at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, as Oloyede’s successor, making him the sixth registrar of JAMB.

Oloyede expressed confidence that Aina’s expertise would help take the board to a higher level, pledging to offer advice whenever required.

“I wish my successor, Prof. Segun Aina, great success and his success is the success of all of us who have been privileged to steer JAMB since its inception,” he said.

“My belief is that the advantage and vibrancy of his younger age and his ICT expertise would propel the Board to higher heights than previously attained. He can rest assured of my advice if and when it is required.”