Controversy surrounding the recently released 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results has deepened following allegations of technical glitches and irregularities by an official of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Olanrewaju Fadehan, Head of Examinations at WAEC’s office covering Anambra, made the allegations in a video that has gone viral, claiming that candidates who took the computer-based version of the examination were particularly affected.
Fadehan said the alleged problems became apparent around the time the results were released. He claimed the results were initially expected between 3 and 5 August 2026, noting that WAEC had traditionally released examination results on Mondays.
“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,” he said.
According to Fadehan, 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 of poor performance by some candidates in Igbo, despite the subject being widely spoken in parts of the South-East.
Fadehan further claimed that schools that invested heavily in computer-based examination facilities were adversely affected by the situation.
He alleged that some schools spent more than N60 million to establish the facilities in preparation for WAEC’s transition to computer-based testing.
“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 N60 million and above to set up their CBT facilities,” he alleged.
The WAEC official also alleged that some candidates were not provided with appropriate calculators during the examination, which he claimed 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 later 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 instead of 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 WAEC management, including claims relating to the supply of calculators, students’ identification cards and charges imposed on candidates and other users of the examination body’s services.
He called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to investigate the allegations, stressing that the credibility of the examination system was crucial to the future of Nigerian students.
When contacted on Thursday for a response, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, declined to comment.
“No comment for now,” she said.
The development comes amid growing scrutiny of the 2026 WASSCE results. The PUNCH reported on 18 August that school administrators and education advocates had raised concerns over alleged grading anomalies and technical glitches following the expanded rollout of computer-based testing.
The concerns followed complaints that some high-performing students received grades lower than expected based on their previous academic records and performance in other standardised assessments.
WAEC has yet to publicly respond to the specific allegations contained in Fadehan’s video.
