The controversy surrounding the recently released 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results has intensified following allegations of technical glitches and irregularities by an official of the West African Examinations Council.
Olanrewaju Fadehan, the Head of Examinations at the WAEC office covering Anambra State, made the allegations in a video that has circulated widely online. He claimed that candidates who took the computer-based version of the examination were particularly affected.
Fadehan alleged that problems became noticeable around the period the results were released. According to him, the results were initially expected to be announced between August 3 and 5, raising concerns when last-minute adjustments were reportedly made before the results were released.
He claimed that the alleged adjustments affected candidates in subjects including Mathematics, English Language and Igbo. He also questioned reports of poor performance in Igbo among some candidates from the South-East.
The WAEC official further alleged that some schools that invested heavily in computer-based testing facilities were adversely affected by the problems. According to him, some institutions spent millions of naira preparing their facilities for the transition to CBT.
Fadehan also raised concerns about the availability of appropriate calculators during the examination, claiming that some candidates did not receive the necessary devices for subjects requiring calculations. He alleged that this may have contributed to poor performance in Mathematics and other calculation-based subjects.
The official said he had previously raised concerns about the alleged irregularities and 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 his complaints being addressed, he was subjected to disciplinary proceedings and later placed on interdiction. Fadehan called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the performance of candidates, particularly those who took the computer-based examination.
He also made additional allegations concerning the management of the examination process and urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to investigate the matter.
When contacted for a reaction to the allegations, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, declined to comment at the time of the report.
The latest development comes amid growing public scrutiny of the 2026 WASSCE results. Earlier this month, WAEC defended the credibility of the results, saying its assessment process involved multiple levels of marking, moderation and auditing. The council also previously announced that 167,486 results were withheld over alleged examination malpractice.
