The House committee investigating WAEC’s midnight exams has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the examination body’s explanation, and asked the Registrar to resign
Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies, on Monday, expressed deep dissatisfaction with the conduct of the 2025 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).
They called on the head of the national office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Dr. Amos Dangut, to step down immediately.
This call came amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the integrity of the nationwide examination, particularly in states where question papers were compromised and delivery was delayed due to logistical failures.
During the resumed investigative hearing, Rep. Billy Osawuru and Rep. Amobi Ogah took strong exception to Dr. Dangut’s explanations, rejecting his attempts to downplay the impact of the compromised papers, which were reportedly printed by outsourced contractors.
“What has happened with your agency and JAMB, deserves two of you to resign. You have exposed Nigeria to the level that people are laughing at us. At one point, I was asking if this was sabotage against the government. Is it sabotage? Or is ethnical, look at what happened in JAMB. What happened in WAEC, I am from south-east. Greater percentage of what is happening is in the south-east. What have we done to deserve this?,” Rep. Ogah said adding that “It is an embarrassment to the nation”
Earlier in the session, Dr. Dangut tendered an apology to Nigerians over the experience of students in affected areas, noting that WAEC moved swiftly to mitigate the breach once it was discovered.
“My being away was very critical in ensuring that order is restored in the future papers, and that explains why I was not here. It was not for any other reason, and I thank you for your understanding, which has allowed us to put our house in order,” he said.
The Registrar narrated that the breach occurred just three days before the examination date, prompting an emergency response from the council.
“We were given what looked to be a compromised examination, and we swung into action, knowing the implication of having a compromised examination. We went into the drawing board, looked at strategies, and strategized to ensure the paper was not compromised.
“I want to inform you and Nigerians that we were able to achieve that, but unfortunately, much regretted, it opened up another problem — the late commencement of the examination.”
But lawmakers remained unconvinced. Rep. Awaji-Inombek Abiante, who led the charge, posed a series of questions to the Registrar:
“Please, don’t be angry with me or make the question look stupid. Just tell me it’s a very stupid question and you cannot answer me. Did you write WAEC, sir?
When asked whether any other West African country conducts examinations at midnight, Dr. Dangut responded:
“I am not aware of any, to the best of my knowledge.”
The committee also raised concerns over the credibility of results from centres where students sat for exams under irregular conditions, including late-night sessions using torches and generators. However, Dr. Dangut insisted:
“The result will come from the examiners. Now it is assumed, yes — oh, they are credible.”
On the broader challenges that marred the exams, Dr. Dangut admitted that logistics played a major role.
“The vehicle conveying the exam material to Taraba had faults in the night. We had to travel overnight because of the time required to replace the papers. Then, in another part, our vehicle was not allowed to pass the community.”
Despite the mounting evidence of malpractice and poor execution, the WAEC boss stood by the integrity of the overall exercise.
“Nationally, it was a credible exam,” he insisted.
In his remarks, Rep. Oforji Oboku stressed that resignation, in this case, is a moral responsibility.
“Well, Head of WAEC, the issue of resignation is a matter of morality. We all knew you decided to toe the side of what is personal. It’s a matter of morality.
“However, Nigerians are not happy with what happened during this examination. And I know that even this government, which is doing its bit in the education sector, is not pleased. I appreciate the fact that you identify, recognize, and accept that.”
