The controversy surrounding the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results is no longer simply a dispute over whether some students performed below expectations. It has become a test of whether Nigeria can move millions of secondary school candidates into computer based examinations without weakening confidence in the results.
Fresh allegations by a WAEC official have now added another layer to concerns already raised by schools and education stakeholders. Olanrewaju Fadehan, identified as Head of Examinations at WAEC’s Anambra office, alleged in a viral video that irregularities and last minute adjustments affected some candidates, particularly those who took the computer based examination. WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by The PUNCH.
The allegations remain unproven and should not be treated as evidence that the 2026 results were improperly graded. But they have revived a legitimate public question: how reliable is Nigeria’s transition from paper examinations to large scale computer based testing?
The question is particularly important because the 2026 WASSCE was one of the largest examination exercises ever undertaken under WAEC’s digital transition.
According to figures released by WAEC, 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 eventually sat for it. The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026.
Of those who sat the examination, 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects including English Language and Mathematics. Another 1,687,378 candidates, or 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects when English and Mathematics were not necessarily included.
That means about 38.46 per cent of candidates did not meet the five credit benchmark including English and Mathematics.
But the 2026 figure does not represent an unprecedented collapse in performance.
In 2025, after WAEC corrected an earlier result announcement caused by a wrong serialised code file used for the English Language objective paper, 1,239,884 candidates, representing 62.96 per cent, obtained five credits including English and Mathematics. The 2026 figure of 61.54 per cent is therefore 1.42 percentage points lower, not a dramatic collapse.
The longer trend is more revealing. The corrected 2025 performance was already substantially below 2024, when 72.12 per cent of candidates achieved five credits including English and Mathematics. That represents a decline of more than nine percentage points over one year.
The data therefore shows a decline, but it does not by itself establish that CBT caused it.
The 2025 Error Is Part Of The Current Story
The sensitivity surrounding the 2026 results cannot be separated from what happened a year earlier.
WAEC initially reported that only 38.32 per cent of candidates had obtained five credits including English and Mathematics in 2025. The council subsequently reviewed the figures and announced a corrected rate of 62.96 per cent.
WAEC explained that an incorrect serialised code file had been used in printing the English Language objective paper, resulting in the use of incorrect marking keys. The council said CBT candidates were not affected by that particular error.
That episode established something important for the present debate: examination processing systems can produce errors, but an error in results is not automatically proof of deliberate manipulation or widespread malpractice.
It also explains why demands for transparency over the 2026 results are likely to receive greater public attention.
What Is Actually Known About The 2026 Results?
WAEC says the 2026 results underwent its established marking, moderation and quality assurance processes. The council has maintained that claims circulating on social media about the credibility of the results should not be accepted without evidence.
There are, however, several categories in the official statistics that deserve attention.
WAEC said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat the examination, had their results fully processed and released at the initial release stage. Results for 116,031 candidates, or 5.95 per cent, were still being processed.
Separately, 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat the examination, had their results withheld over alleged examination malpractice. WAEC said the figure was lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
The council cited infractions including the use of mobile phones in examination halls and organised cheating in some schools. It said cases were being investigated before final decisions were taken.
These withheld results should not be confused with the 116,031 results still being processed. They are separate categories.
The 2026 examination was the second major stage of WAEC’s transition towards computer based testing for school candidates. The Federal Government had earlier said the transition would be gradual because schools across Nigeria do not have equal ICT infrastructure.
The Ministry of Information reported in June that schools with adequate computer capacity were selected for CBT, while others continued with the paper and pencil format. It also reported that 1,959,636 candidates and about 29,000 schools were involved in the 2026 exercise, figures that differ slightly from the later WAEC result release figures.
That difference itself illustrates why examination databases require careful interpretation. Registration figures, candidates who actually sat the examination, processed results and withheld results are not interchangeable categories.
The allegations by Fadehan also raise questions about infrastructure, examination equipment and the experience of schools investing in CBT facilities. He claimed some schools spent more than N60m preparing facilities, and alleged problems involving computers, calculators and examination processing.
Those claims require independent investigation before they can be accepted as established facts.
The most useful response is neither to dismiss every complaint nor to declare the results fraudulent without evidence.
WAEC has an established complaints and redress mechanism for candidates who believe their results or malpractice cases require review. The council has also said its results are subjected to multiple levels of marking, moderation and auditing.
Given the history of the 2025 correction and the scale of the 2026 examination, however, greater disclosure would help restore confidence.
A credible review should establish whether complaints are concentrated among CBT candidates, particular subjects, examination centres, serialised papers or geographical areas. It should also distinguish technical failures from grading errors and grading errors from ordinary variations in student performance.
That is where the debate should ultimately go.
Nigeria has nearly two million young people whose tertiary education plans depend partly on these results. For them, the issue is not simply whether WAEC recorded a 61.54 per cent pass rate. It is whether the grade appearing beside their name accurately represents the examination they actually wrote.
The available data establishes a modest decline in the national five credit benchmark and confirms that thousands of results were withheld or still being processed. It does not, by itself, establish that CBT produced widespread incorrect grades.
Until the latest allegations are independently investigated and the evidence made available, the fairest conclusion is that the 2026 WASSCE results remain officially valid but are facing legitimate questions that WAEC and education authorities have a responsibility to address transparently.