The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has extended the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, registration deadline to Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

The board, in a statement by its Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, on Wednesday, said the exercise which was due to end on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, had been extended by one week.

Benjami said sale of ePINs would end on Monday, February 20, 2023, while the UTME registration would end on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

The statement attributed the decision to the naira crisis being experienced in the country.

The statement said, “It should be noted that the board, based on its projections, had expanded its capacity to register up to a hundred thousand candidates per day. With this, it was possible to register all desiring candidates within the space of a few days.

“However, less than fifty thousand candidates were turning up for registration, which is less than the installed registration capacity. Surprisingly, in the last two days before the closing date, the pace picked up remarkably with over a hundred thousand candidates registering on a daily basis.

“Furthermore, the board, as a responsive and proactive agency, took cognisance of the reports from across the country indicating some difficulties being faced by many Nigerians in using their electronic channels to purchase the ePINs or obtain cash readily within the stipulated period.

“It has, as a consequence, granted this extension to ensure that all candidates who desire to register for the 2023 UTME are given the opportunity to do so especially when the extant challenges are not of their own making.”