Registration exercise for 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) begins at centres in Lagos on Monday with candidates showing up as early as 7:00 am.

A correspondent of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who monitored the exercise, reports that candidates waited anxiously for the centre operators to attend to them.

By about 8:45 a.m, some of the centre officials in Ikeja, who did not want their names in print, were seen putting the logistics in place to attend to the growing number of applicants.

At Ogba, a centre official told NAN that he expected seamless exercise.

“We are starting the registration today as soon as we are through with setting up.

“We have all the facilities fully on the ground, the backups in top shape, but we want to ensure that we get things right from the scratch before commencing,” he said.

At another centre in Ojodu area, an official, who also pleaded anonymity, told NAN that the centre was ready for the exercise.

NAN reports that as at about 9:00 a.m, over 30 candidates were seen sitting and waiting patiently for the exercise to commence at the centre.

“I want to say that JAMB, on its own, is fully set for the exercise, but on our side, we are trying to do the necessary connections as well as put required logistics in place to enhance our job.

“Our systems are in shape. Just recently we carried out our facility maintenance all in readiness for this exercise.

“So, we can assure you that we are good to go and we look forward to a hitch-free exercise,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Mrs Patricia Arukwue, told NAN that about 65 centres had so far been approved for the registration of candidates for the UTME in Lagos.

“For now, we have about 65 centres approved in the state, but it could be increased as time goes on,” she said. (NAN)

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