WAEC Result Crisis Deepens as Official Alleges Glitches, Irregularities
The controversy surrounding the recently released 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results for school candidates has deepened following allegations of glitches and irregularities by an official of the West African Examinations Council.
The Head of Examinations at the WAEC office covering Anambra State, Olanrewaju Fadehan, made the allegations in a viral video, claiming that candidates who sat the computer-based version of the examination were particularly affected.
Fadehan alleged that the problems became noticeable around the release of the results, which he said were initially expected between August 3 and 5, 2026, adding that WAEC had traditionally released its results on Mondays.
He said, “Obviously, there was a problem because the press was eagerly waiting on Monday, the scheduled date. There was a need to quickly do some last-minute adjustments. Something was wrong.”
According to him, the alleged last-minute adjustments affected candidates who sat the computer-based examination, particularly in subjects such as Mathematics, English and Igbo.
He also expressed concern over reports that some candidates from the South-East performed poorly in Igbo, despite the subject being widely spoken across the region.
Fadehan further said schools that invested heavily in computer-based examination facilities were also affected, alleging that some spent more than N60m to establish the facilities in anticipation of WAEC’s transition to CBT.
“The call for a review this year is particularly disturbing, as it is alarming. Schools that subscribed to the CBT innovation of WAEC were badly hit. Some of them spent upwards of N60m and above to set up their CBT facilities,” he alleged.
He further alleged that some candidates were not provided with appropriate calculators during the examination, claiming that the development contributed to poor performance in Mathematics and other calculation-based subjects.
Fadehan said he had raised concerns about the alleged irregularities during the examination and subsequently petitioned relevant authorities, including the WAEC Board, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examining Bodies, and the Minister of Education.
He alleged that rather than addressing his complaints, he was subjected to disciplinary proceedings and subsequently placed on interdiction.
“I call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to investigate the cause of failure of candidates, particularly those who chose the computer-based WAEC,” he said.
Fadehan also made allegations of financial impropriety against the management of the examination body, including claims concerning the supply of calculators, students’ identification cards and charges imposed on candidates and other service seekers.
He urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to investigate the allegations, stressing that the integrity of the examination system was crucial to the future of Nigerian students.
When contacted for a reaction to the allegations on Thursday, WAEC Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, declined to comment on the matter.
“No comment for now,” she said.
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of the 2026 WASSCE results, with school administrators and education advocates raising concerns over alleged grading anomalies and technical glitches linked to the expanded Computer-Based Testing rollout.
The concerns followed complaints from some school administrators and education advocates who claimed that some high-performing students received lower grades than expected based on their academic records and performance in other standardised assessments.