The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the 2026 WASSCE results of candidates whose state governments still owe the council money, even as the exam body announced that 61.54 per cent of candidates who sat this year’s test met the benchmark of five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
Dr Amos Dangut, Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, disclosed this on Wednesday at a press briefing in Yaba, Lagos, where he released results for the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE for school candidates.
Dangut said 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination, which held between April 24 and June 19, 2026, with 1,950,726 candidates eventually sitting the test.
Of that number, 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, had their results fully processed and released, while 116,031 candidates, or 5.95 per cent, were still awaiting processing due to unresolved issues. He said the outstanding results should be ready within days.
However, candidates sponsored by indebted state governments will not gain access to their results until the affected states clear their outstanding payments to the council. “The results of candidates who are sponsored by states indebted to the council will not be released now until payment is made,” Dangut said, urging the defaulting states to settle their debts to enable affected schools and candidates to access their results.
He added that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the exam, obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English and Mathematics, a performance he noted was 1.42 percentage points lower than in 2025. A gender breakdown showed 558,883 male candidates (28.65 per cent) and 641,631 female candidates (32.89 per cent) met the benchmark.
Candidates whose results have been released and whose fees are fully paid can check the WAEC results portal within 12 hours of the announcement and apply for digital certificates, which will be issued within 48 hours, Dangut said.
On examination malpractice, Dangut disclosed that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of the total candidature, had been withheld pending investigation into alleged malpractice. He said the cases would go before the Nigeria Examinations Committee for final determination, adding that some suspects had already been apprehended in collaboration with security agencies, along with supervisors and invigilators accused of aiding malpractice, who will face sanctions through their respective state ministries of education.
