The lawmaker representing Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, has raised alarm that nearly 80 per cent of Nigerian youths who sat for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) risk losing admission opportunities due to the continued withholding of their results by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
In a statement issued in Abakaliki, Ogah urged WAEC to immediately release the results of candidates withheld over alleged malpractice, warning that the Council was jeopardising the educational future of thousands of students.
He recalled that he had earlier issued a seven-day ultimatum to WAEC to release the results of 192,089 candidates—representing 9.75 per cent of those who wrote the exam—or face a ₦50 million lawsuit.
According to him, the delay has already placed candidates at a disadvantage, as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released its results and ongoing admissions require English Language and Mathematics grades. “Leaving results pending up to now is unconstitutional. This anomaly only happens in Nigeria,” he said.
Ogah cited the WAEC Act, Cap W4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, which empowers the body to conduct and mark examinations in the public interest. He stressed that indefinitely withholding results without proof of malpractice violated WAEC’s statutory mandate and infringed on the rights of innocent candidates.
Meanwhile, the National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced that beginning with the November/December 2025 SSCE External, it will phase out the paper-and-pencil method and fully adopt computer-based examinations.
According to NECO, all CBT centres must meet strict requirements, including at least 150 functional computer systems with 10 per cent backups, robust servers, air-conditioned cubicles, CCTV surveillance, and reliable internet connectivity. The Council emphasised that makeshift centres would not be accepted, stressing the need for credibility and integrity in the new system.
The Federal Government had earlier revealed that by 2026, all school-based SSCE examinations would also be conducted fully through CBT, using both private and institutional centres nationwide.
