Ex-chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, and Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Mr Sam Amadi, has come hard on South-East governors over their silence amid the controversy surrounding the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, (UTME), results.
It could be recalled that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) finally admitted that a glitch affected the outcome of the exercise in the entire South-East state and Lagos.
Those affected have now been asked to resit for the examination.
However, no word has come from any of the South-East governors.
In a video posted on his X handle on Thursday, Amadi knocked the governors for keeping quiet in the face of injustice against their people.
He said unlike former president Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, the South-East governors cannot stand for their people.
Amadi, in what he termed ‘Democracy Broadcast’, said it was no longer news that those affected by the glitch, both in the South-East and Lagos were candidates from the South-East region.
He said, “I want to look at the recent JAMB crisis, it is no longer a story that JAMB witnessed mass failure, and most of the failure came from the South-East region, which used to be the most performing region of the country.
“Now finally it has been established that there was glitch as JAMB described it, that now affected the results of many South-East students who took the exam, and Lagos, of course you expect that most of them will also come from the South-East.”
He then queried: “What have South-East governors done? Massive failures of students from that region, and we didn’t hear the voice of the South-East governors, we didn’t see them interrogate.
“But for Alex Onyia, and Mr Osita Chidoka who took up this matter, perhaps, these students would have happened.
“Now, this is the question - why are South-East governors not really responsive to the challenges of people from their states when it concerns national issues?
“Buhari made name by defending Northern Nigeria, Tinubu made name by defending Southern Nigeria, must South-East governors always fail to rise up to challenges?
“I will use this opportunity to ask that South-East governors should take it up to ask for a proper inquest into what led to what and also ensure that candidates from that region do not suffer either in this or subsequent editions of the JAMB or WAEC.”
He advocated for a new leadership “that is not ashamed, that is confident to defend the interest of their constituents within a fair and just Nigerian nation.
“That's the challenge and that’s what the South-East governors have been missing.”