The Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company said it is saddened to know that Ejikeme Mmesoma forged her result and has withdrawn the scholarship awarded her.
This is coming after an investigation revealed that Mmesoma forged her 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) test scores.
The position of the company was revealed in a statement on Saturday, by the spokesperson of the Innoson, Cornel Osigwe.
Initially awed by the youngster’s academic UTME scores, Innocent Chukwuma, the founder of Innoson company, awarded her a N3 million scholarship.
Miss Mmesoma, a student of the Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra State, had claimed to be the top scorer in the 2023 UTME with 362, a feat that attracted to her national admiration and accolades, a part of which was the scholarship , until the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) came out to accuse her of forging her result.
The Examination board accused her of manipulating her UTME results and inflating the scores from 249 to 362. An accusation Mmesoma denied, insisted that the score she received both on the JAMB website and in the SMS sent to her by the board was 362.
Following the candidates insistence, the examination body announced it has cancelled her actual UTME scores and barred her from writing the exam for the next three year.
As Mmesoma stock to her claim, he went ahead to release a video which went viral, accusing the board of traumatising her as she held on to the score of 362. Her father also granted interviews accusing the board of attempting to destroy his daughter’s life
The tension the accusations and counter accusations between JAMB and the Ejike’s generated, drew the attention of Anambra State Government, National Assembly, different bodies and individuals who demanded for a thorough investigations to be carried out to unravel the truth.
Consequently, the Anambra State Government, last week, set up a panel of inquiry into the controversy.
The eight-member panel which was head by Professor Nkemdili Nnonyelu, on Friday, submitted its report confirming JAMB’s position that Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362.
According to the eight-page report, a copy of which was published by TVAFRINET, Mmesoma owned up to doctoring the result, after which she visited a cyber cafe to print out the copy she’s parading about.
According to the spokesperson for Innoson Motors, Mr Osigwe , the company felt deeply disappointed and embarrassed by the outcome of the findings that Mmesoma forged her UTME results.
The company said her stellar performance was the basis it awarded her the scholarship in the first place, and finding out that she manipulated her results was quite disappointing as such actions “stands in direct contravention of the values” of the company.
“In line with these principles and in response to the confirmed findings, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw the scholarship awarded to Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme,” he said.
“This action is a testament to our unyielding commitment to honesty, integrity, and merit-based recognition.”
Mr Osigwe said, although the withdrawal of the scholarship was regrettable and could cause “dismay” to those who stood by Miss Mmesoma including her school principal, it was crucial to maintain the integrity of the company’s scholarship programme and its values.
“We believe in rewarding exceptional students who display, not just academic prowess but also embody the values of honesty, transparency, and respect for the processes that govern our educational system,” he said.
The spokesperson appreciated JAMB, Nigerians and the members of the panel set up by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State for their support during the period of controversy.
