The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says the results of some candidates in government-sponsored schools will not be released until the governments of the affected states pay their outstanding registration fees.
The Head of WAEC’s Nigeria Office, Amos Dangut, announced the release of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, but noted that some candidates would not be able to access theirs until their state governments clear their debts.
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“I need not restate the fact that the results of candidates who are sponsored by states indebted to the Council will not be released now until payment is made,” he said.
“We appeal to the concerned to do the needful to enable the affected schools and candidates access their results.”
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When asked to name the indebted states involved, Mr Dangut declined, noting that the situation was changing.
He said WAEC was making efforts to engage with the states involved and confirmed that the number of indebted states had reduced as of Monday morning.
“As of yesterday, we had four states that had outstanding fees, but early this morning, I got information about two states taking it up,” he said. “So, we have just about two states. In fact, I got a call … that they are with the various ministries right now trying to tidy up the payments.”
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A total of 1,969,313 candidates sat the examination conducted between April and June, out of the 1,973,365 candidates that registered across 23,554 recognised secondary schools in Nigeria.
Of these, 1,517,517 results, representing 77.06 per cent, have been fully processed and released, while 451,796 results (22.94 per cent) are still being processed due to various issues.
Past debts
WAEC has in the past raised concerns about state governments defaulting on payments for candidates in public schools. In 2023, eight states were reportedly owing the Council, though Zamfara and Niger were identified as the biggest debtors.
Zamfara State, under former Governor Bello Matawalle, reportedly owed WAEC about N1.6 billion, a figure later confirmed by the current administration.
In a 2023 interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Governor Dauda Lawal’s spokesperson, Mustapha Kaura, said the debt was inherited from two previous administrations.
Mr Kaura said the state intended to pay the debt either in full or in instalments once the governor secured approval from the state executive council.
In May 2025, the Zamfara government announced it had paid N1.4 billion to clear the debts it owed to WAEC from 2018 to 2022.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: WASSCE 2025: WAEC releases results, records sharp decline in performance
“The swift payment of the outstanding debt to WAEC and NECO has relieved the stranded Zamfara students, who completed their final exams but could not proceed due to the examination bodies withholding their results,” a statement published on the state government’s website said.
“For the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Governor Dauda Lawal has paid the outstanding bill of one billion four hundred million naira that the previous administrations owed from 2018 to 2022.”
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