Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing (IVM) says the claim that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma faked her 2023 UTME result should be thoroughly investigated.
In May, Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra state, gained popularity for allegedly scoring 362 in this year’s UTME.
Innocent Chukwuma, founder of Innoson Motors, also awarded a N3 million scholarship to the student for her supposed heroics.
But on Sunday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said the student was not the top scorer as claimed, adding that she actually got 249 in the exam.
The board said the student allegedly manipulated her result to “deceive the public to fraudulently obtain scholarship and other recognitions”.
JAMB also vowed to prosecute the student and others that allegedly manipulated their results in due course.
Reacting via his Twitter page, Cornel Osigwe, IVM’s head of corporate communications, said “there is more” to the JAMB claim.
Osigwe doubted the possibility of Mmesoma manipulating her UTME results as alleged given her previous academic records.
“That girl was one of the most brilliant in her school, according to the principal, her parents couldn’t even afford to pay for her WAEC and NECO Exams. Of what advantage will it offer her to manipulate her JAMB score? Let the poor breathe please,” he wrote.
“The girl I met doesn’t have the brain and capacity to manipulate her result. There is more to this story. A proper investigation needs to be done. Abeg let the poor breath.”
In a follow-up post, Osigwe said the company has commenced independent investigation into the matter.
He added that the company will withdraw the N3m scholarship awarded the student if found guilty of the allegation against her.
“We’re doing our independent investigation on the issue of manipulation, if we found that the girl willfully manipulated her result, we shall withdraw the scholarship, but if we observe she is innocent of the accusation, then the scholarship stands, whether she is the best or not,” he added.
TheCable
