2026 UTME: JAMB Warns Against Registration Infractions, Reaffirms Cashless Regime
By Alice Etuka, Abuja
Ahead of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration exercise, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned against any form of registration infractions.
According to a bulletin published on Monday, the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede gave the warning at an interactive meeting with management of the Board preparatory to the commencement of sale of application documents and registration exercise for the upcoming 2026 UTME/DE.
Prof. Oloyede stated that such unwholesome acts as impersonation, extortion, image blending, image morphing, group registration, batching, inappropriate movement of routers to unauthorised places, multiple registration, donations of fingerprint, unwholesome activities by candidates, Computer-Based Test centres, and parents, would be decisively dealt with as they are capable of undermining the sanctity of the exercise.
In specific terms, the Registrar warned candidates against ‘donating to/accepting fingers from others’ in order to accelerate biometric capturing, stating that such actions attract severe sanctions and consequences.
Consequently, he advised candidates, “To ensure that only their own ten fingers are captured individually and correctly at the CBT centre.”
Continuing, he said, “multiple/double registrations coupled with the use of multiple National Identification Numbers (NINs) by a single candidate for the purpose of double registration, impersonation, or any form of identity manipulation is strictly prohibited and will be severely sanctioned.”
On the cashless policy, the Registrar reaffirmed the commitment of the Board to the policy stating that its cashless registration system for the 2026 UTME/DE registration was in full force in order to prevent the exploitation of candidates. He pointed out that centralized collection of all third-party fees will continue with remittances made to beneficiaries on a weekly basis.
