Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has rejected allegations of ethnic discrimination in its 2025/2026 admission exercise, insisting that its decisions comply with approved guidelines and are not targeted at Yoruba students.
The university’s Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, stated this in a response to a petition by Akin Okunowo, who accused the institution of abandoning merit and marginalising candidates in its admission process.
Olarewaju explained that admission into federal universities takes into account academic performance, available spaces, programme requirements and applicable federal guidelines on merit, catchment areas and educationally disadvantaged states.
He said allegations of discrimination could not be established by comparing selected admission scores without examining the complete records and relevant admission categories.
Addressing claims concerning Law and Accounting admissions, the university urged affected candidates and parents to submit formal complaints, detailing their credentials and grounds for challenging the decisions, for verification and review.
OAU maintained that it had no interest in arbitrarily denying admission to qualified candidates or discriminating against Nigerians on ethnic grounds.
It added that calls for changes to the Federal Government’s admission framework should be directed to the relevant authorities, including the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission and JAMB.
While acknowledging that unsuccessful candidates might be disappointed, the university urged the public to avoid making sweeping allegations of ethnic conspiracy or deliberate sabotage without verifiable evidence.
The institution reaffirmed its commitment to fairness, transparency and academic excellence, insisting that its reputation as “Great Ife” would not be defined by what it described as unsubstantiated allegations.
