The National Examinations Council has announced that 58.67 per cent of candidates who sat for the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
The NECO Registrar, Prof Dantani Wushishi, disclosed this on Thursday while announcing the results of the 2026 internal examination.
Wushishi said 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 682,352 males and 695,696 females, while 1,371,992 candidates eventually sat for the exercise.
According to him, 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent of those who sat for the examination, secured five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
He added that 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above without necessarily including English Language and Mathematics.
The registrar also disclosed that 1,334 candidates with special needs participated in the examination, while 1,406 candidates were recorded for examination malpractice.
He said the number of malpractice cases dropped significantly from 3,878 recorded in 2025, representing a 64.74 per cent reduction.
Wushishi described the 2026 examination as an improvement on the previous year’s exercise.
Responding to questions from journalists, the NECO boss dismissed claims linking the council to so-called miracle centres, insisting that the examination body had no dealings with such centres.
“NECO is not aware of miracle centres because we don’t have any business with them,” he said.
He explained that NECO only registers examination centres that meet its stipulated requirements and has no affiliation with establishments operating as miracle centres.
“We register centres and have criteria for which we register these centres. We don’t know miracle centres because we have only one school and we cannot be associated with miracle centres.
“If there are miracle centres, it is the state governments that established these miracle centres or they are privately owned, but NECO does not believe in miracle centres,” he said.
Wushishi also said insecurity challenges, including banditry, kidnapping and sit-at-home orders, did not prevent the council from conducting its examinations.
He highlighted the transparent conduct of the internal examinations, timely release of results, smooth promotion exercises and development of ICT software as some of the council’s achievements.
The registrar spoke at an event where staff members of the examination body were recognised during the 2025 Annual Staff Productivity Awards.
He said the awards were introduced to acknowledge dedication, hard work and outstanding performance among workers and pupils.
Fifty-five former NECO workers who retired in 2025 were also presented with certificates of service, while other awards recognised outstanding staff across the council’s zones, states and headquarters.
The award categories included recognition for hardworking and dedicated employees, the best state coordinator, best driver and pupils who performed exceptionally well in NECO examinations.
The Director-General of Student Affairs, Niger State Government, Bello Sheriff, who represented the state government, congratulated the recipients and urged the council to maintain its achievements.
Among the award recipients were Akai Kuyet, who emerged as the best female in the SSCE category, and Felix Emenike, who was named best male.
In the National Gifted Examination category, Ezeudu Akachukwu emerged best male, while Ubochi Nancy was named best female.
