The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that over 1.5 million candidates have been registered for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The board noted that centres across the country are operating at barely 30 per cent of that capacity despite a daily registration capacity of 100,000 candidates.
In a statement on Wednesday, JAMB’s public communication advisor ruled out any extension of the registration deadline, noting that pin vending for the 2026 UTME will close on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
“As of Tuesday, 17th February, 2026, the Board has successfully registered over 1.5 million candidates. The Board has a daily registration capacity of 100,000 candidates, yet registration centres across the country are currently operating at barely 30% of that capacity. This indicates that a significant number of prospective candidates are yet to take advantage of the opportunity to register.
“The Board wishes to clearly state that there will be no extension of the registration deadline. The sale of e-PINs which enables a candidate to proceed to the Centre for registration will end at 12:00 midnight on Thursday, 26th February, 2026, while actual registration at accredited centres for those who already procure the ePIN will cease on Saturday, 28th February, 2026,” the board stated.
JAMB noted that it operates within a nationally coordinated examination calendar agreed upon by all examination bodies in Nigeria. The registration window was scheduled to allow other examination bodies to conduct their own exercises immediately afterwards.
