The Lagos State Government has disclosed that a staggering 31,596 public school students failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), raising alarm across its education sector.
The figures, unveiled by the Lagos Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Tolani Alli-Balogun, during a ministerial press briefing on Thursday in Alausa, Ikeja, showed that 54.3% of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the exams failed.
The commissioner said the pass rate was 45.7%.
The failure rate comes despite the government’s significant financial backing — a whopping N1.577 billion was paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of N1,577,794,000 (One Billion, Five Hundred and Seventy-Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four Thousand Naira) only was paid by the State Government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for year 2024 WASSCE,” Alli-Balogun announced.
In a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, the Commissioner disclosed that biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona-fide beneficiaries of the Lagos State Government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
However, the Lagos State Government rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO Candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the Ministry’s commitment at advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.
He said with a vision to broadcast 320 lessons across 10 key subjects, including English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Government, History, Literature-in-English, and Yoruba, the programme aims to bring world-class tutoring directly into students’ homes.
Thw commissioner said each 30-minute episode would air on Lagos Television (LTV) and be archived across major platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), creating a digital learning library accessible to every student.
“It is a supportive eco-system that fosters academic achievement, creativity, critical thinking… every student deserves the opportunity to attain their full potential, regardless of their background or socio-economic status,” the Commissioner declared passionately.
Alli-Balogun urged students, especially those in boarding schools, to seize this opportunity.
“It is on this note that I urge and encourage students’, more importantly, students in our boarding schools, to take full advantage of this initiative, as education is a lifelong journey,” he said.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the sales of registration forms for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) admissions for the 2026/2027 academic session.
JAMB stated this in a post on its X handle on Tuesday night.
“UTME is open to suitably qualified candidates for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions for the 2026/2027 academic session,” the photo statement signed by its Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, read.
“Registration commences January 2026 and closes March 2026 (exact dates to be announced by JAMB),” the post read, disclosing that the UTME examination is scheduled to hold in April 2026.
“The period of registration for UTME candidates, including those from foreign countries, is from Monday, 26th January, 2026 to Saturday, 28th February, 2026,” the statement read in part.`
According to JAMB, candidates must have obtained their National Identification Number (NIN) before registration.
The agency said, “Only candidates who will not be less than 16 years old by 30th September, 2026 are generally eligible to apply/be considered.”
But it clarified that, “Candidates less than 16 years old by 30th September, 2026 will have to undergo an intensive evaluation to determine their eligibility for a waiver. Such must have scored not less than 80% in each of UTME/ALEVEL, PUTME, SSCE, and in the exceptional candidate assessment.”
“The UTME results of the underage candidates will be released only at the conclusion of the complete evaluation process,” JAMB said.
For Direct Entry candidates, the “Sale of 2026 Direct Entry (DE) application documents and E-PIN vending would commence from Monday, 2nd March, 2026, and end by Saturday, 25th April, 2026, and would only be at the Board’s State and Zonal Offices.”
“The 2026 UTME will commence on Thursday, 16th April, 2026 and end on Saturday, 25th April, 2026,” JAMB wrote. “Mock-UTME (optional) shall hold on Saturday, March 28th, 2026.”
Two more members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have urged their colleagues to withdraw the impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.
The appeal by Barile Nwakoh, representing Khana Constituency I, and Emilia Amadi of Obio/Akpor Constituency II comes 24 hours after two other lawmakers adopted a similar stance.
While maintaining that the governor and his deputy breached constitutional provisions, the lawmakers say their change of position followed interventions by well-meaning leaders of the state.
With this latest development, 4 out of the 26 lawmakers who signed the notice of alleged misconduct have now indicated support for a peaceful resolution of the political impasse.
The Minority Leader, Sylvanus Nwankwo, who represents the Omuma constituency, alongside Peter Abbey of the Degema Constituency, had earlier announced their change of position during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Monday.
The legislators called on the Assembly to halt the impeachment process and explore alternative means of resolving the crisis.
Two members of the Rivers House of Assembly, who are loyalists of former Governor Nyesom Wike, have withdrawn from the impeachment move against Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers.
The Minority Leader of the assembly, Sylvanus Enyinna Nwankwo, and Peter Abbey, who represents Degema State Constituency, urged their colleagues to exercise restraint and allow for dialogue to maintain stability in the state
In a video widely circulated on Facebook and an excerpt published by Rivers State Television, the lawmakers urged their colleagues to prioritise the overall interest and stability of Rivers above partisan disagreements.
Call for ‘cooling-off period’
The legislators stressed that the prevailing political climate demands calm, dialogue and a “cooling-off period” within the assembly to allow, in their words, “wisdom and truth to prevail” in the legislative chambers.
Although they did not expressly mention the impeachment process during the briefing, their intervention is being interpreted by political observers as a withdrawal from the impeachment push against Mr Fubara, which has heightened tensions in the state.
Background to impeachment moves
The Rivers assembly parted ways with Mr Fubara because of the feud between the governor and Mr Wike, who is the FCT minister.
The current impeachment notice on Mr Fubara is the third attempt in less than three years to remove the governor. The previous efforts had split the legislature into two factions, causing President Bola Tinubu to declare a six-month state of emergency in the oil-rich state and suspend the governor, the deputy governor, and the lawmakers.
The lawmakers accused the governor of constitutional breaches and administrative misconduct, allegations his supporters have dismissed as politically motivated.
