•UTME candidates
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday said it had released the results of candidates who took the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.
The agency, in a post on X signed by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, disclosed that a total of 1,264,940 results from the two days were available for candidates to check or view, reports Channels TV.
“The results of candidates who sat the examination on Friday, 17 April and Saturday, 18 April 2026 have now been released. A total of 1,264,940 results from these two days are available for candidates to check/view.
“To view their results, candidates should send UTMERESULT to 55019 or 66019 using the phone (SIM) number they used to register for the 2026 UTME,” the agency said.
JAMB said it had earlier released 632,752 results of candidates who sat for the examination on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
“This brings the total number of results released so far to 1,897,692,” it added.
JAMB had earlier yesterday apologised for failing to release the latest batch of UTME results as scheduled, assuring candidates that the results would be made public later yesterday.
The board had indicated that results for candidates who took the exam on Friday, April 17, 2026, would be released on Saturday.
However, the delay triggered frustration among candidates awaiting their scores.
In a statement issued yesterday, the agency explained that the setback was due to the temporary absence of the board’s chief executive, who was engaged in official duties.
2,243,816 Candidates
No fewer than two million candidates were expected to participate in the examination, which commenced on April 16 across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
The agency said a total of 2,243,816 candidates registered for this year’s exercise, representing a 10.5 per cent increase from the 2.03 million recorded in 2025.
The exercise has sessions divided into four daily slots to ease congestion and enhance verification processes.
Lagos State recorded the highest number of candidates with 381,814 in the breakdown of registration figures, followed by Ogun (137,156), Oyo (122,662), Kaduna (103,498), and the Federal Capital Territory (102,961).
Outside Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire leads with 32 candidates, followed by Equatorial Guinea (16), Burkina Faso (14), and the United Kingdom (12).
Countries such as Gambia, Ghana, and South Africa recorded fewer than 10 candidates each.
