…Social Listening 16 May 2025
The World Bank is wondering where Nigeria’s subsidy money is going.
Every day is for the thief (allegedly), but one day is for the owner. Brethren, the owner’s day has finally arrived. Have you ever wondered where the extra money from the subsidy removal has gone? The World Bank has some answers for us, and they’re going to irritate you a little…or a lot.
It turns out that even though the government officially stopped paying fuel subsidies in October 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) didn’t begin submitting the supposed savings until January 2025. And now that they’ve finally decided to hand over the extra funds, they’re only sending half of the money.
To answer the question on your mind, NNPCL is using the remaining funds to “settle debts.” However, even the World Bank is unsure of what type of debt it is paying off with such a substantial amount of money.
If 50 + 50 isn’t giving 100, the World Bank says it isn’t buying it. It states that if citizens are already facing the economic struggles caused by subsidy removal, all the money saved should be accounted for.
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Why is this a big deal?
We went from paying ₦238.11 per litre for fuel in 2023 to over ₦900 for the same quantity today. The least the government can do is tell us where that money is going, especially since President Tinubu said the subsidy removal is supposed to grow the economy.
Instead of maintaining transparency, the President has been busy with his damage control efforts. In April 2025, he dissolved the NNPC board, sacking everyone, including Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer, whom he replaced with Bayo Ojulari. This month, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) started investigating former and current NNPC officials (including Kyari). There is a chance that these guys have been chopping and cleaning their mouths with public funds and abusing their office.
The EFCC is still busy playing Sherlock Holmes, but the investigation alone is enough to raise questions about the honesty of these NNPC officials.
If we’re paying through the nose to buy fuel, we should at least see some benefits. Typically, one would expect these funds to be redirected to critical sectors like healthcare, agriculture, or education. However, currently, only our president can inform us about where our money is going.
2. The JAMB 2025 examination debacle.
Unusually for a Nigerian public institution, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board took responsibility for the debacle of the 2025 university matriculation examination, apologised, and promptly scheduled a remedy for candidates in the South-East and Lagos.
The repeat examination will be held next week.
The media space is filled. While there are commendations for JAMB Registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede’s demeanour, there are still questions and concerns.
Citizens ask why not have a general resit for all candidates? Will the affected demographic be ready for a resit, even as many are writing their final school exams that WAEC conducts?
Several commentators played the ethnic card.
Stakeholders on Wednesday demanded Oloyede’s resignation despite his apology. https://clone.businessday.ng/news/article/utme-2025-stakeholders-demand-oloyedes-resignation-amid-errors-acceptance/
Excerpts from Oloyede’s press statement.
Please accept JAMB’s apology and remediation, Oloyede.
As Registrar of JAMB, I hold myself personally responsible, including for the negligence of the service provider, and I unreservedly apologise for it and the trauma that it has subjected affected Nigerians to, directly and indirectly.
Once again, we apologise and assure you that this incident represents a significant setback for the Board’s reputation. We remain committed to emerging stronger in our core values of transparency, fairness, and equity.
First of All
Without equivocation, there has been considerable excitement since the results of the 2025 UTME were released last Friday, May 9th. Although JAMB is a responsive organisation, the unusual level of public concern and loud complaints has prompted us to conduct an immediate audit of what happened, which we usually would have done in June. I want to clarify that our review and investigation reveal that there are grounds for the complaints regarding our 2025 UTME results, and this press conference is convened to unveil the bitter truth of our findings openly and objectively.
Between KAD and LAG
Conscious of Nigeria’s fault lines, we employ two operational ‘vehicles’ to navigate the country under the code names KAD and LAG. The KAD vehicle encompasses the Northern states, excluding Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Niger, Kogi, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but includes all six South-South states. In contrast, the LAG vehicle consists of Southern states, excluding the six South-South states, yet includes Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Niger, Kogi, and the FCT. These ‘vehicles’ are deployed to serve all Nigerians, with the South being part of the North and the North being part of the South. Thus, there is no distinct North or South.
In simple terms, while 65 centres (206,610 candidates) were affected in the Lagos zone (comprising only Lagos state), 92 centres (173,387 candidates) were affected in the Owerri zone, which includes the South-East states. In clear terms, in the process of rectifying the issue, the technical personnel deployed by the Service Provider for LAG (Lagos and South-East zones) inadvertently failed to update some of the delivery servers. Regrettably, this oversight remained undetected until the release of the results.
A Meeting of Minds
Within 24 hours of rigorous work, we identified the source of the problem. It occurred in 65 centres in Lagos and 92 centres in the Owerri zone. In these centres, the patch was not correctly applied to some centre servers by the service provider, and this failure disrupted the upload of the candidates’ responses during the first three or four days relevant to the Lagos and Owerri zones. The 2025 UTME could have been our finest, yet it was marred by the carelessness, negligence, and lack of concern displayed by the agents entrusted with this crucial yet straightforward task. As soon as we realised this, we summoned the Chief External Examiners of Lagos, Imo, Anambra, Oyo, Abia, and Ebonyi – the six affected states.
Fortunately, they all quickly responded to join the group. We also invited Professor Bashir Galadanchi, a leading expert in Computer Science, and the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPSS), represented by a prominent advocate, Dr. (Mrs.) Bukola Dosumu. Several of our vocal critics were also invited to the discussion, allowing us to jointly and sincerely examine the situation.
Despite being able to identify the source of the problem and the affected centres, we are aware of the significant damage it has caused to the reputation of JAMB. As Registrar of JAMB, I take personal responsibility for this, including the negligence of the service provider, and I unreservedly apologise for the trauma it has inflicted on affected Nigerians, both directly and indirectly. Once again, we apologise and assure you that this incident marks a notable setback for the Board’s reputation. We remain committed to emerging stronger in our core values of transparency, fairness, and equity. It is our culture to admit to errors, as we acknowledge that, despite our best efforts, we are human and fallible. The only consolation we have in this case is that it involves just one of the two service providers that performed poorly by uploading incorrectly, but it was not due to glitches or sabotage.
No Problem Without a Solution.
We have decided that all the candidates affected in the 157 centres out of 882 centres will be contacted to retake their examinations starting from Friday, 16 May. These candidates will be contacted through text messages sent to their registered phone numbers, their email addresses, and their profiles, as well as by phone calls from JAMB. They are directed to reprint their Examination Slips for the rescheduled examination dates.
Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede is the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
