The management of Innoson Motors says the N3 million scholarship awarded to a student in Anambra State, Mmesoma Ejikeme, will stand if found to be innocent of the allegation by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) of result manipulation.

JAMB had, on Sunday, July 2, said Ejikeme used a software to manipulate her score to 362 as against 249.

The Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group, Cornel Osigwe, on Monday, however, said it was strange to hear from JAMB that Ejikeme manipulated her result.

Osigwe said: “It is strange to us because we did our independent verification and found out that Mmesoma Ejikeme actually scored 362, when we printed her result.

“When it was claimed that she was the highest, we waited for JAMB to come and clarify it but they did not and the media was publishing that she was the highest.

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“We also waited to see if there was going to be a counter claim but since there was no counterclaim, we awarded her the scholarship as the highest scorer.

“On Sunday, it was reported that JAMB claimed that she manipulated her result. We are doing our independent investigation as we speak to know if she actually manipulated her result or the fault was from JAMB.

“If we find out that the girl actually manipulated her result for obvious reasons, we will withdraw the scholarship.

“But if we find out that the mistake was actually from JAMB, that they were the ones that awarded her the score, or probably did a review and found out that her actual score was 249, then our scholarship will still stand.”

Osigwe further urged Ejikeme not to panic during the period of the investigation, saying Innoson Motors has the capacity to carry out proper investigation to unravel the truth.

He stressed that if they find out that she is innocent of the allegation, whether she scored the highest or not, the scholarship will still stand.

The Star