Nigeria’s indigenous motor manufacturing company, Innoson Vehicles on Saturday announced its withdrawal of scholarship granted to Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme following manipulation of her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Result (UTME) score.
SaharaReporters had reported that Innoson Vehicle Nigeria gave Mmesoma N3million scholarship after she presented her 2023 UTME results as the top scorer when she knew it was false.
IVM had on July 3, 2023 stated that it would not withdraw the scholarship unless after a thorough investigation was conducted and she was found culpable.
The Head of Communication, Innoson Motors, Cornel Osigwe, had stated in an official reaction that the company was carrying out its independent investigation over the JAMB revelation.
He had said, “We’re doing our independent investigation on the issue of manipulation, if we found that the girl in question willfully manipulated her result, we shall withdraw the scholarship, but if we observe she is innocent of the accusation, then the scholarship stands, whether she is the best or not.”
SaharaReporters had reported earlier on Saturday that a Committee of Inquiry set up by the Government of Anambra State to thoroughly investigate the controversy around the said UTME results of Mmesoma submitted its findings to the state government, which indicted her.
In the committee report obtained by SaharaReporters on Saturday, the panel wrote that “Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.”
The committee also recommended that the schoolgirl tenders apology to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
However, reacting to the investigation report, Osigwe announced that “Innoson Vehicles Withdraws Scholarship from Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme Following UTME Score Manipulation.”
He added in the statement posted on his Twitter handle that the company withdrew its scholarship after “we have been involved in the process of investigating allegations surrounding the 2023 UTME examination results.”
