in Abuja

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has attributed the unusual late conduct of its English Language exam in several states to a leakages, internal compromises, and logistical setbacks which led to some candidates taking the exam  into the night.

Speaking  during his appearance before the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies  yesterday, WAEC’s Head of National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, explained that the council identified leaks and integrity breaches in its English Language paper just three days before the exam. 

WAEC officials had  failed to attend a scheduled appearance before the Committee on Friday to provide an account of the examination irregularities that disrupted the process for students nationwide.

But  Dangut told the Committee  that the situation escalated because the system had already been compromised.

“A lot of things went wrong,” he admitted, suggesting that the leaks triggered a cascade of operational issues.

He said: “In addition to the paper leaks, WAEC encountered serious logistical problems while attempting to distribute replacement exam papers. Vehicles transporting the materials to states like Taraba broke down, and in some cases, were denied passage through certain communities, compounding the delivery delays.”

Addressing his previous absence,  Dangut offered an apology to the Committee, clarifying that his failure to appear was not an intentional slight or a show of disrespect towards the legislature, but rather due to pressing demands that required his presence elsewhere at the time.

During the session, a committee member Dagomie Abiante (PDP, Rivers) engaged  Dangut in a pointed questioning exchange, challenging the credibility of WAEC’s response, suggesting the agency failed to act decisively after discovering the leak.

Abiante criticized WAEC and the Nigerian authorities for not implementing preemptive measures similar to those in other WAEC member countries, which could have prevented students from being kept late into the night.

The Committee Chairman Oboku Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa) stated that the committee had raised concerns at its May 30, 2025 sitting, demanding explanations for what he called the Council’s mishandling of the examination, which sparked widespread criticism and disappointment from the public.

Oforji emphasised that the Committee, on behalf of Nigerian citizens and parents, had a duty to hold WAEC accountable. 

He stated, “We are not here to overreact, but we need to understand both the immediate and underlying causes of the poor execution of the exams. Parliament approved funding for these examinations, and we must ensure accountability. Understanding these failures is key to preventing them from happening again.”