Kamsiyochukwu Umeh, the candidate who was confirmed by Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as the best candidate, has got a cash gift of N2.5 million from Dr Eric Umeofia, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of Erisco Foods Limited.
Umeofia made this known in an interview with The PUNCH.
Umeh, a student of Deeper Life High School, Mowe in Ogun State, emerged as the best candidate in the 2023 UTME with a cumulative score of 360.
The student, an indigene of Anambra State, scored 99 in Chemistry, 98 in Mathematics, 97 in Physics, and 66 in English in the examination.
Previously, another candidate named Mmesoma supposedly scored 365 to be the highest scorer. She had since been in the news after JAMB punctured her claim of being the highest scorer in the 2023 UTME.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had said the student “actually got 249 in the exam and not 362” as widely assumed.
This had triggered a huge controversy. Amid the back and forth, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra set up a committee to investigate the issue.
But a few days into the sitting of the eight-man panel of inquiry, Mmesoma appeared on a television programme where she backed down on her claim of scoring 362.
The panel, in its report, indicted the candidate and asked her to tender an apology to JAMB.
