The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has postponed the release of the 2026 WASSCE results, which had been widely expected on Monday, August 3, 2026. The announcement affects nearly two million Nigerian students awaiting the WAEC result 2026.
In a statement issued Monday, Moyosola Adesina, Acting Head of Public Affairs for WAEC’s National Office, confirmed that the press briefing set to announce the WAEC result 2026 has been rescheduled. The statement read:
“Please be informed that the press briefing to announce the release of the results for the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2026, has been rescheduled. The new date and time will be communicated to you shortly. We sincerely regret any inconvenience this change may cause”
No reason was given for the delay, and WAEC has not yet confirmed a new date.
Was August 3 an Official WAEC Result 2026 Release Date?
Not exactly. WAEC did not issue a prior public statement naming August 3 as a confirmed release date. What existed instead was a strong expectation built from two things: WAEC’s stated policy of releasing WASSCE results within 45 days of the final examination paper, and last year’s precedent, when the 2025 WASSCE results were released on August 4.
The 2026 WASSCE for school candidates ran from April 21 to June 19, 2026. Counting 45 days from the June 19 close date placed the expected release at the start of August. Reports circulating in July said WAEC had entered the final stage of result processing and was expected to release results on August 3, “subject to the successful completion of all necessary procedures.” That final stage appears to be where the delay occurred.
Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, had reaffirmed the 45-day commitment during a press briefing in Lagos in May, but stopped short of naming a specific date at the time.
Context: Year 2 of Computer-Based Testing
The 2026 WASSCE was the second consecutive year the exam was administered in computer-based format for school candidates, following the first CB-WASSCE rollout in 2025. WAEC registered 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools for this year’s exam.
Separately, WAEC had already released results for private candidates who sat the Computer-Based WASSCE (CB-WASSCE), also known as the WAEC GCE First Series, on March 27, 2026. That sitting recorded a 32.7% pass rate, with roughly one in three candidates achieving credit passes in five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
That figure applies only to the private candidate diet and is not indicative of the school candidates’ results now delayed.
What WASSCE 2026 Candidates Should Do Now
Wait for official confirmation of the WAEC result 2026 release date. WAEC has not named a new date. Any specific date circulating on social media without a matching WAEC statement should be treated as unverified. Avoid unofficial “checker” sites and paid shortcuts. Every results season brings scam sites and social media accounts claiming early access to results for a fee.
Monitor official channels only. WAEC typically confirms release dates through its verified social media accounts and official statements to the press, a few days ahead of results going live.
Keep result-checking details ready. Once results are released, candidates will need their examination number, exam year, and PIN to check via the official portal at waecdirect.org, or by SMS.
How to Check WAEC Result 2026 Once Released
- Go to www.waecdirect.org, the official WAEC result checker portal.
- Enter examination number, examination year (2026), and PIN from the scratch card.
- Submit to view the result.
Alternatively, candidates can check by SMS: text “WAEC” followed by an asterisk, the exam year, another asterisk, the PIN number, another asterisk, and the examination number, to the designated WAEC shortcode.
Read also: NECO GCE Registration 2026 Is Now Open: How to Register (Full Guide)
Conclusion
WAEC has given no timeline for the rescheduled briefing beyond saying an update will follow “shortly.” Based on past delays of this kind, the gap is typically measured in days rather than weeks. This post will be updated once WAEC confirms the new release date for the WASSCE WAEC result 2026.
