WAEC Withholds 2025 WASSCE Results Over States’ Debt
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has stated that the results of certain candidates from government-funded schools will remain unreleased until the respective state governments settle their pending registration fees.
Amos Dangut, who leads WAEC’s Nigeria Office, revealed the issuance of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results during a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, explaining that access to results is dependent on state governments clearing their dues.
“I need not emphasize that the results for candidates sponsored by states that owe the Council will not be accessible until payment is completed,” he stated.
“We urge the relevant parties to take appropriate action so that the affected schools and candidates can receive their results.”
When queried about the states with outstanding debts, Mr. Dangut refrained from naming them, noting that the circumstances are evolving.
He mentioned that WAEC is working to communicate with the states in question and confirmed that the number of indebted states had decreased as of Monday morning.
“As of yesterday, there were four states with pending payments, but first thing this morning, I was informed that two states are addressing the issue,” he noted. “So now, we have only about two states left. In fact, I received a call … indicating they are currently engaging with the relevant ministries to finalize the payments.”
A total of 1,969,313 candidates participated in the examination, which took place between April and June, from the 1,973,365 candidates who registered at 23,554 recognized secondary schools in Nigeria.
Of those, 1,517,517 results, or 77.06 percent, have been fully processed and released, while 451,796 results (22.94 percent) remain under processing due to various complications.
Historical debts
WAEC has previously expressed concerns about the failure of state governments to fulfill their payment obligations for candidates in public schools. In 2023, reports indicated that eight states had outstanding debts to the Council, with Zamfara and Niger identified as the primary debtors.
Zamfara State, during the tenure of former Governor Bello Matawalle, reportedly owed WAEC approximately N1.6 billion, a figure that was later confirmed by the current administration.
In a 2023 interview with PREMIUM TIMES, a spokesperson for Governor Dauda Lawal, Mustapha Kaura, mentioned that the debt was inherited from two prior governments.
Mr. Kaura indicated that the state planned to settle the debt either in full or through installments once the governor obtained authorization from the state executive council.
In May 2025, the Zamfara government announced it had paid N1.4 billion to eliminate the debts owed to WAEC from 2018 to 2022.
“The prompt settlement of the outstanding debt to WAEC and NECO has enabled students from Zamfara, who completed their final exams but were stranded due to withheld results, to move forward,” a statement published on the state government’s website declared.
“Regarding the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Governor Dauda Lawal has cleared the outstanding bill of one billion four hundred million naira owed by previous administrations from 2018 to 2022.”
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