Olushola Omogbehin
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) results for school candidates.
According to WAEC, 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtained credit passes in English Language, Mathematics and at least five other subjects.
Speaking on Wednesday in Lagos at the official release of the result, the Head of the WAEC National Office, Dr Amos Josiah Dangut, said the performance represents a 1.42 per cent decline compared to the 2025 results.
Out of the 1,950,726 candidates across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea that sat for the examination between April 24 and June 19, 2026, WAEC disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
Among those who secured the benchmark five credits, including English and Mathematics, 558,883 (28.65 per cent) were male, while 641,631 (32.89 per cent) were female. In all, 953,459 males (48.88 per cent) and 997,267 females (51.12 per cent) participated in the examination.
WAEC also recorded 1,213 candidates with special needs, including 137 visually impaired, 491 hearing impaired, 55 spastic and mentally challenged, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
Dangut said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, have had their results fully processed and released while the results of 116,031 candidates representing 5.95 per cent are still being processed.
WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, over alleged examination malpractice which is 1.11 per cent lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,” he said.
He said that supervisors and invigilators that are aiding such practice and other examination malpractice had been apprehended and would be sanctioned through their respective State Ministries of Education.
He said WAEC also deployed the Digital Examiner Mark System (DEMS) to speed up result processing and introduced serialised question papers to curb examination malpractice.
He explained further that the Council has launched a new portal that allows candidates to generate electronic PINs directly for result checking.
Announcing that registration for the 2026 Second Series WASSCE for Private Candidates is ongoing at ₦37,500, while walk-in registration remains available, he said candidate can now apply for digital certificates within 48 hours of checking their results through www.waecdirect.org.
Candidates are expected to access their results online within 12 hours, while hard-copy certificates will be ready within 90 days.
