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WAEC: 1.6m Candidates Register For 2021 WASSCE Exams
The West African Examination Council (WAEC), says 1.6 million candidates are expected to participate in this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) scheduled to begin on august 16.
WAEC’s Head of National Office, Mr Patrick Areghan gave the figure in an interview, yesterday, in Lagos.
Areghan said that the council was working day and night toward accommodating some schools still bothering it with late registration.
He said that the development was taking its toll on council’s operations.
Areghan said ahead of the conduct of the 2021 WASSCE, the council was working with relevant stakeholders to ensure a hitch-free WASSCE for school candidates, in spite of some challenges.
“As I have always said, conducting examination is not a tea party. It is a huge task and requires collaboration of all critical stakeholders, including the media.
“It requires a lot of preparations and even more, especially in the face of the rising cases of insecurity and the resurgence of Coronavirus pandemic in the country.”
“In conducting this examination, we also want to ensure that the lives of all those involved, including council’s staff, and materials are properly secure.
“Our arrangement for the successful conduct of our upcoming examination, therefore, is in top gear as we are ensuring that we do not leave any stone unturned,” he said.
Areghan noted that examination conduct required money and other resources.
According to him, the entire process of conducting the examination – from printing of examination materials, distributing them and ensuring security, to recruitment of adhoc staff and printing certificates – is a huge financial burden.
Areghan gave the assurance that WAEC would continue to do all it could to stay afloat.
“It is what the council has been doing, and we want to ensure we continue in that excellent tradition.”
He noted that West African School Certificate was internationally accepted and required protection of its integrity.
“Therefore, in order not allow anything reduce that standard, we shall be collaborating with the federal and state ministries of health and education as well as the police and other security agencies.
“This is in a bid to ensure that all precautionary measures are in place before, during and after the examination,” Areghan said.
The HNO said that WAEC members had been meeting to fine-tune strategies that would ensure a hitch-free conduct of the examination.
He urged schools and candidates to get themselves well prepared ahead of the examination, warning that the council would not tolerate any acts capable of undermining the integrity of the examination.
“There is no hiding place for cheats.
“We want to warn schools, students and even supervisors and invigilators that there will be no hiding place for anyone who tries to go against laid down rules for the conduct of this examination.
“We will surely catch that person, no matter where the malpractice is being carried out.
“We have in-built mechanisms to detect every act of cheating; cheats, when caught, will not get their results.
“Even if you cheat in our objective test, we will catch you, using technology. This technology is called the Item Deferential Profile; it has been there for quite sometime,” he said.
The HNO advised parents not to indulge their children and wards in cheating in examinations by providing money to source for the questions from fraudsters.
“We have carried out a lot of sensitisation, reaching out to parents not to give money to their children in an attempt to patronise rogue website operators and other mischievous individuals, who promise to help get to WAEC questions for them, before the examination.
“There is nothing like that. Some even go as far as saying WAEC normally posts questions on the internet.
“This is laughable and misleading. We have tried as much as possible to enlighten the world that there is nothing like ‘miracle Centre.
“This is a creation of the society and not the council.
“It may be existing in their subconscious but does not exist in our dictionary,” he said.
According to him, there has been no episode of leakage of council’s examination questions in Nigeria since the last, many years ago.
He said that what some sections of the public referred to as leakage during conduct of WASSCE, was the work of internet fraudsters, who registered and sat with genuine candidates in the hall.
“They are served the examination papers, they pretend to be writing the examination, while they manage to snap the questions in collaboration with their mercenaries outside.
“But these days, they no longer snap the questions; rather, they connive with some unscrupulous supervisors and invigilators, who help them to snap the questions, using their own handsets, and send, after which the fraudsters put the questions on the internet.
“These same supervisors allow some candidates into the halls with handsets, even when they know it is against the law, all because they have been compromised.
“However, the various ministries of education have been doing a great job in this respect, as they have been taking drastic measures on those found culpable, by either sacking outrightly or demotion,” he said.
The HNO warned that WAEC would not hesitate to hand any suspect over to the police.
“We have a way of detecting those posting these things to the internet and go after them; that is why we always need the collaboration of the police,” Areghan said.
The governor has also pledged to upgrade the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Bille with a view to addressing the health challenges confronting the community.
Fubara made the pledge on Wednesday at the Government House, Port Harcourt during an enlarged meeting of key stakeholders, comprising representatives of the Federal Government, the state government and leaders of the community.
The meeting was held to review the situation in the community and explore available opportunities to save the people from the adverse impacts of environmental pollution.
Addressing the journalists at the end of the meeting, the governor acknowledged the determination of the Federal Government and its agencies to get to the root cause of the problem in Bille and ensure that it is resolved permanently.
“The meeting is in respect of the situation in Bille. You’re aware that there is a case of gas leakage somewhere in Bille and the people have been making some requests that the government should come to their rescue to resolve the situation.
“As a state, we have gone to see the situation in the community, not alone but in conjunction with the industry operators and officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. What we are doing today is an enlarged meeting where all the parties are sitting together to look at the cause of the issue and the most possible way to get the problem resolved,” he said.
Fubara described the outcome of the meeting as successful, stressing that more action would be taken in the next couple of weeks to ensure that the issue is fully resolved.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, who led the Federal Government’s delegation to the meeting, expressed appreciation to the governor for his warm hospitality and efforts to address the challenge in Bille community.
Ekpo explained that contrary to the perception in certain quarters, the Federal Government has not been silent over the “gas seepage” but has been working tirelessly towards finding a sustainable solution.
The minister explained that as soon as the incident was reported, the Federal Government deployed experts to the area to understudy the cause of the problem.
According to him, it was difficult at first to understand the cause of the problem since there were no oil or gas infrastructure within the vicinity of the incident, hence the need to conduct a more detailed investigation.
“The investigation is still going but we decided to do a follow-up visit to the area to talk to the people of Bille Community that we need collaboration on their part so that we would be able to arrive at a lasting solution.
“The safety of the people is paramount. We can understand their anxiety, the worry and the danger that this thing poses within the area, but the Federal Government is committed to finding a lasting solution to the problem. The primary responsibility of government is to take care of the welfare and security of the people and that is exactly why we are here to go and see things for ourselves,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, also explained that as the regulatory agency at the centre of the issue, no effort will be spared in the task of resolving the issue.
Eyesan pledged that the NUPRC and operators in the industry were prepared to address the requests of the impacted people in terms of the provision of potable water and fire trucks to the community.
The Public Relations Officer, Council of Chiefs, Bille Kingdom, Chief Rena Dappa, had during the meeting, presented the challenges facing the community and pleaded for government’s support to save the lives and livelihoods of the people.
The President stated that the scheme is aimed at creating jobs, closing the country’s metering gap and improving electricity supply.
The President disclosed this in a statement on his verified X handle yesterday, describing the initiative, tagged “The Power Force,” as part of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to expand employment opportunities for young people.
According to Tinubu, the programme will equip participants with practical technical skills and connect them to employment opportunities in Nigeria’s power sector.
“Through the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), which I established to close Nigeria’s metering gap, end estimated billing, protect consumers and strengthen the electricity market, we are opening a new pathway for 5,000 young Nigerians to be trained as meter installers and technicians under The Power Force. This programme is about jobs, skills and dignity,” he said.
Tinubu said the training would be open to eligible Nigerians who have completed their secondary school education, with a dedicated quota reserved for members of the National Youth Service Corps.
He noted that expanding electricity metering was critical to improving service delivery and promoting transparency in the power sector.
“When homes and businesses are properly metered, Nigerians can pay for what they actually use. When electricity distribution companies collect revenues more transparently and fairly, they are better able to reduce losses, maintain infrastructure, expand connections and invest in better service.
“This is how we build a power sector that is fairer to consumers, stronger for investors and better able to deliver reliable electricity to the Nigerian people,” the President said.
Tinubu said he had directed the Presidential Metering Initiative to work with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, and other relevant stakeholders to commence the programme within the next 30 days.
He encouraged qualified young Nigerians to apply, saying the initiative would provide them with marketable skills while supporting efforts to eliminate estimated billing and improve electricity access nationwide.
“I encourage eligible young Nigerians to apply. Join The Power Force. Learn a skill. Earn with dignity. Help us end estimated billing and be part of the work to light up Nigeria,” he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday by its spokesperson, Mr Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa.
According to the ministry, the Air Peace-operated flight is expected to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 5:30 a.m. on Friday, July 3, 2026.
It said the evacuation is part of the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to facilitate the voluntary return of Nigerians from South Africa.
“The third evacuation flight operated by Air Peace will depart Johannesburg today by 12 midnight with 271 returnees. The estimated time of arrival in Lagos is 5:30 a.m. on Friday, July 3, 2026,” the statement read.
The latest batch of returnees follows earlier evacuation flights that brought hundreds of Nigerians back to the country under the Federal Government’s voluntary repatriation programme.
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