Today’s Headlines: JAMB Reveals Over 73,000 Mock UTME Absentees, Delta APC Welcomes PDP Defectors, NANS Kicks Against Non-Voter Jail Bill, Afe Babalola Urges Return to Agriculture

JAMB: Over 73,000 Candidates Missed 2025 Mock UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that 73,844 registered candidates did not show up for the 2025 mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. According to JAMB spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, a total of 200,115 candidates initially indicated interest in the exam. After two withdrawals, 200,113 were officially registered.

Benjamin stated, “Of those registered, 73,844 candidates were absent on the day of the examination, and 88 candidates failed the biometric verification screening.”
As a result, 126,181 candidates sat for the exam, with results for 115,735 candidates already released. The remaining 10,446 are still being processed.

Delta APC Gains Momentum as PDP Members Defect, Vows to Unseat Oborevwori

In Delta State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has received new members from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as members of the Delta Unity Group formally joined the opposition party. At a gathering in Agbor, Ika Federal Constituency, prominent APC figures, including National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Edo Governor Monday Okpebholo, and former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, welcomed the defectors.

Senator Ned Nwoko addressed the crowd, declaring the APC’s determination to defeat Governor Sheriff Oborevwori in 2027. “Oborevwori wants to come to the APC, but tell him to stay where he is,” Nwoko said, receiving loud applause.

NANS Blasts Proposed Bill to Jail Non-Voters

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has strongly opposed a proposed bill by the National Assembly that would penalize Nigerians who fail to vote during elections.

In a statement, NANS National Vice President, Inter-Campus and Gender Affairs, Felicia Akinbodunse, described the bill as absurd. “NANS views the proposed bill by the National Assembly to impose a fine and a jail term on eligible Nigerians who do not vote as not only ridiculous but laughable,” she said.

She warned lawmakers to reconsider, stressing that the bill could turn Nigeria into a global joke. “Where in the world does a non-participant in an election get jailed or fined?” she questioned.

Afe Babalola Urges Nigerians to Embrace Agriculture, Cites Obasanjo’s Legacy

Legal icon and founder of Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has urged Nigerians and the government to prioritize agriculture as a solution to poverty and unemployment. He pointed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s “Operation Feed the Nation” as a model that could be revived to boost food production and economic stability.

“The country should borrow a leaf from former President Olusegun Obasanjo who introduced Operation Feed the Nation during his first coming as a military Head of State,” Babalola said during a meeting with Ekiti State’s Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Kayode Fasae, and his delegation at ABUAD.

He emphasized that reviving agriculture holds the key to long-term national development.