The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Sunday announced the release of results for candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.

In a post on X signed by its spokesperson, Mr. Fabian Benjamin, the board disclosed that 1,264,940 results from the two days are now available for candidates to access.

“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 or view.

“To access their results, candidates should send UTMERESULT to 55019 or 66019 using the phone (SIM) number used for registration for the 2026 UTME,” the board stated.

JAMB added that it had earlier released 632,752 results of candidates who sat the examination on Thursday, April 16, 2026.

“This brings the total number of results released so far to 1,897,692,” it said.

The board had earlier apologised for failing to release the latest batch of results as scheduled, assuring candidates that they would be made available later on Sunday.

It had initially indicated that results for candidates who sat the examination on Friday, April 17, would be released on Saturday. However, the delay triggered frustration among candidates awaiting their scores.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the board attributed the delay to the temporary absence of its chief executive, who was engaged in official duties.

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.

According to the board, 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 examination is conducted in four daily sessions to ease congestion and enhance verification processes.

A breakdown of registration figures shows that Lagos State recorded the highest number of candidates with 381,814, followed by Ogun (137,156), Oyo (122,662), Kaduna (103,498), and the Federal Capital Territory (102,961).

Outside Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire recorded the highest number of candidates with 32, 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.