By Tony Okafor
Mr Ejikeme Romanus, the father of the girl, Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma who claimed to have scored highest in the 2023 UMTE, has alleged that there is conspiracy to deprive her daughter of her hard earned academic success.
He said that her daughter had shown brilliant academic brilliance right from her nursery school days, stating that she had always placed first position in her classes.
Ejikeme said “We are from Oduma in Aninri local government in Enugu state, but, we live in Uruagu, Nnewi.
“Mmesoma is my first child. She had always taken first position from the time she was in the nursery school at Ogbunike Central school.
“When she was at Oba Girls Secondary school, Mmesoma was representing the school in competitions. So when she changed to Anglican Girls Secondary school, her teachers in Oba Girls came and pleaded with me, begging me to retain her in their school, that she is promoting the name of their school.
“Mmesoma cannot manipulate her UMTE score. I don’t believe what they are saying.
“They just want to transfer that scholarship to another person. That is why they are saying that Mmesoma did not make that score.
“It is even her (Mmesoma’s) friends that saw her score in internet and started calling her before she went and printed it out. We have the print out with us now”, Mmesoma’s father stated further.
Ejikeme lamented that her daughter has been feeling very sad and even crying sometimes since after her visit to the commissioner of education from where she was taken to the DSS office.
Meanwhile, Anambra state government has set up an investigation panel into the controversy trailing the authenticity of y Mmesoma’s claim of scoring 362 in the 2023 UMTE.
The state commissioner of education, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Ude said the state government had congratulated Mmesoma when she was published in social media platforms that she proffered the highest score of 362 in the 2023 UMTE.
She, however, stated that the government was later to discover from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board website that the highest score in the 2023 UMTE was 360, and, that it was another student in the state who, Miss Nkechinyere Umeh who got the score.
The education commissioner said Mmesoma was later brought to her office in Awka on Friday, June 30, by one Very Reverend Nduka and the principal of her school to protest when they saw that the state government rather congratulated Miss Nkechinyere Umeh.
She stated that when she scrutinized the print out of Mmesoma’s JAMB result slip, she noticed that the result was that 2021 UMTE.
“Following Mmesoma’s protest, I decided to put a call to the secretary of the JAMB, and, he told me that the highest score in 2023 UMTE is 360.
“I therefore invited the DSS (operatives) and when they came, all of us took Mmesoma to their (DSS) office for them to investigate the matter. And I made sure that Mmesoma was released to go home.
“So, the matter is still being investigated”, Prof. Chuma-Ude stated further.
When contacted, the public relations officer of the Anambra state police command, deputy superintendent of police, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu told LEADERSHIP that Mmesoma’s has not been reported to the police in the state.
“We are not aware of the case (Mmesoma’s UMTE score forgery). So, I can comment on the issue”, Tochukwu stated.
