Gov Lawal secures release of withheld WAEC results of Zamfara students

Governor Dauda Lawal has secured the release of results of Zamfara State students earlier withheld by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

The results were withheld over non-payment of N1.4 billion examination fees owed by the previous administrations in the state, according to a statement on Wednesday by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris.

He said that WAEC officials met with the Governor in his Abuja office where the parties agreed on a plan to offset the backlog of debt.

According to him, the WAEC delegation was led by the Chairman of the Administrative and Finance Committee of WAEC Nigeria, Hajiya Binta Abdulkadir, and the Head of the National Office Nigeria, Dr. Amos J. Dangut.

Also present at the meeting were senior officials of WAEC Nigeria, including Mr Ambrose Okelezo, the Zonal Coordinator, Mr Victor C. Odu, the Director of Finance, and Mr. Segun U. Jerumeh, the Deputy Director.

The statement said, “as part of the present administration’s determined effort to ensure that the state of emergency declared in education is seriously addressed, Governor Dauda Lawal hosted the leadership of the WAEC in his Abuja office.

“The Governor who was in the company of the Commissioner of Education, Science, and Technology, Mallam Wadatau Madawaki, discussed with the WAEC officials the issue of outstanding debt owed by the Zamfara state on examinations conducted under the previous administrations.

“The non-payment of the WAEC fees for many years led to the non-release of the West African Examination results for the affected students.

“This caused many students not to participate in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps programme due to non-collection of their results.

“At the end of the meeting, the examination body agreed to release the previous results and allow Zamfara students to participate in the 2024 WAEC examinations.

“The state government and WAEC agreed on a payment plan for a backlog of the debt and the withheld results will be released before the end of this month.”