The controversy surrounding the recently issued West African Examinations Council 2026 results for school candidates has deepened following claims of system failures and anomalies made by an officer of the testing organization.
The Head of Examinations at the WAEC office covering in Anambra, Olanrewaju Fadehan, made the allegations in a now viral video, claiming that candidates who sat the computer-based version of the examination were particularly affected.
Fadehan alleged that the problems were noticeable around the release of the results, which he said was initially expected to be announced between August 3 and 5, 2026, adding that WAEC had traditionally released 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 including Mathematics, English and Igbo.
He also voiced anxiety over accounts that numerous candidates from the South-East scored badly in Igbo, despite the language being widely spoken across the territory.
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Fadehan said schools that invested heavily in computer-based examination facilities were also affected, alleging that some spent over N60m establishing the facilities in anticipation of the 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.
He additionally lodged accusations of financial misconduct against the leadership of the testing council, including assertions regarding the provision of calculators, candidate identification cards, and fees levied on applicants 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 important to the future of Nigerian students.
When reached for a response to the accusations on Thursday, the WAEC Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, declined to comment on the matter. “No comment for now,” she said.
It was reported on August 18 that the examination body is facing growing scrutiny over the integrity of its released WASSCE results for school candidates, as school administrators and education advocates allege grading anomalies and technical glitches linked to the expanded Computer-Based Testing rollout.
The concerns had followed complaints from school administrators and education advocates who claim that some high-performing students received lower grades than expected, based on their academic records and performance in other standardised assessments.
