THE Senate, on Thursday, declared the post-Unified Tertiary University Matriculation Examinations (UTME) illegal, following the adoption of a motion brought to the floor by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, (PDP, Bayelsa State).

Adopting the motion which was co-sponsored by 35 other senators, including Senators Smart Adeyemi, Ayogu Eze, Zainab Kure, Chris Anyanwu and Dahiru Awaisu-Kuta, the Senate further directed its Committee on Education to comprehensively investigate activities of the universities that have been conducting the post-UTME.

But senators were initially divided on the matter, with some supporting the view that the conduct of post-UTME was illegal by usurping the powers of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB), while some others sought to justify the post-UTME examinations.

The Senate session, which was presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, however, resolved that the conduct of the post-UTME examiniations was “illegal, unconstitutional and wicked.”

In his lead debate on the motion, Senator Lokpobiri, who chairs the Senate Committee on Water Resources, said that JAMB had been statutorily empowered to conduct matriculation examinations into universities and tertiary institutions and that it was also empowered to appoint examiners, moderators, invigilators, members of the subject panel and committees in respect of the examinations.

The senator stated that the conduct of post-UTME examinations meant that universities have usurped the powers of JAMB.

The senator submitted two newspaper publications wherein the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, openly complained about the conduct of post-UTME.

Senators who backed the scrapping of the post-UTME included Senators Emmanuel Paulker, Datti Baba-Ahmed, Nenadi Usman, Ayogu Eze, Nkechi Nworgu, Ahmed Lawan, Abdul Ningi and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.

Senator Eze argued that the conduct of post-UTME was a huge rip-off on the people of Nigeria, adding that the law does not envisage the conduct of post-UTME.

Former Minister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman, told her colleagues that notwithstanding whatever intentions, whatever is illegal is illegal, adding that “every coin has two sides. If JAMB is faulty, then, the law setting up JAMB should be rectified.”

Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmed Lawan said that the senators were the ones who represent the people and know where the shoe pinches them.

He said: “The examination is extortionist, illegal and wicked. Monies collected from post-UTME is clearly illegal, since there’s no law backing it up.”

Senator Aisha Al-Hassan, however, disagreed with her colleagues, saying that the conduct of the post-UTME was aimed at entrenching quality education.

She said: “We should be saying thank you to the universities for the post-UTME. They are out to give qualitative education to our children. People condemn when it suits them and tend to condone when it suits them.

“It’s common knowledge that JAMB has failed. I, therefore, oppose in total, the scrapping of post-UTME.”

The Senate, however, resolved that the Education Committee should investigate the conduct of post-UTME since there are no laws backing it.