By Adedapo Adesanya
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the suspension of the use of National Identification Number (NIN) for registration for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
This was revealed by the JAMB Registrar, Mr Ishaq Oloyede, at the institution’s headquarters in Abuja on Saturday.
The latest announcement came after the board last year said from 2020, candidates will register for its examinations with their national identity numbers to solve the challenges of multiple registrations.
This was, however, met by a lot of criticisms as some of the complaints involved extortion, irregularities with registration, and difficulties with meeting the deadline.
Mr Oloyede said the decision to suspend the NIN for registration this year was to provide more time for candidates to get their national identification numbers before 2021.
He said the suspension was also to address the technical challenges experienced at some centres.
He asked candidates to disregard the use of NIN for the 2020 registration and strictly comply with other procedures for the registration.
Mr Oloyede, however, noted that JAMB will consider the use of National Identity Card Management Commission (NIMC) for the 2021 exams and called on those that are yet to get theirs to do so.
In June, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) stated that starting from year 2020, UTME/Direct Entry candidates will register for its examinations with their NIN to solve the challenges of multiple registration.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Dipo Olowookere