Late-night exams not credible, fall below standard — WAEC boss tells reps panel

Amos Dangut, head of the national office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), says the exams conducted late at night in some parts of the country did not meet the council’s standards.

Dangut spoke on Monday when he appeared before the house of representatives committee on basic education and examination bodies.

Last Wednesday, there was widespread confusion across several examination centres as candidates sitting for the senior school certificate examination (SSCE) organised by WAEC faced hours-long delays before writing the English Language paper.

At some centres, the test scheduled to begin at 9 am did not start until late at night, forcing students to reportedly rely on torchlights and phone flashlights to read and answer the question papers.

Dangut told the house committee that the disruptions were due to logistical challenges arising from the need to print new exam questions after the original ones were leaked.

Billy Osawaru, a member of the committee, asked Dangut whether the exams were credible.

“Are you defining those exams as credible? Yes or no?” the lawmaker asked.

In response, Dangut said the exams were credible.

“It was a credible exam,” he said.

Osawaru, apparently dissatisfied with the response, pressed further.

“Can the exams conducted using phone flashlights as the only light source be truly considered credible? he asked.

“Can you show me, from your regulations, that exams written under those conditions are credible?

“We don’t subscribe to these conditions,” Dangut replied. “It was a credible exam nationally. There were pockets of places that had challenges.”

After continued questioning, Dangut finally said the exams were “substandard”.

“They were not credible,” he said.

‘STEP ASIDE’

Amobi Ogah, another member of the committee, demanded Dangut’s resignation.

“What has happened in your agency — and also in JAMB — deserves that both of you (heads of JAMB and WAEC) resign,” he said.

“I’m not here to mince words because you have exposed Nigeria to ridicule. People are laughing at us.

“At a point, I asked myself, is this sabotage against the government? Or is it targeted against a particular ethnicity?

Ogah claimed that students from the south-east were the most affected by the disruptions.

“A greater percentage of what happened affected the south-east the most,” he said.

“What have we done to deserve this? If you were in a developed society, you would have resigned.

“What is happening in Nigeria today is getting out of hand. It’s an embarrassment to the nation.”

Osawaru also said WAEC had failed, noting that Dangut should resign.

“Everything you’ve told us makes us shed tears because it’s so obvious that we really don’t care,” he said.

“Admit to the Nigerian people that you’ve failed. If you want to cry, cry now. After crying, tender your resignation.”

In his ruling, Oboku Oforji, chairman of the committee, requested WAEC’s guidelines and a detailed report on the conduct of the 2025 SSCE in the affected areas.