NANS to Tinubu: WAEC delay threatens students’ future
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Southwest Zone D, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene in the crisis surrounding the conduct of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) English Language II paper.
Reports from multiple examination centres, particularly in Osun State, revealed that students waited for over six hours before WAEC officials delivered question papers. In several centres in Osogbo and Ife, invigilators resorted to using phone flashlights to allow students to write their exams after nightfall.
In a statement jointly signed by its Coordinator, Comrade Owolewa Taiwo S., and General Secretary, Comrade Oluwole Olutunde A., NANS described WAEC’s handling of the situation as “sheer irresponsibility, recklessness, and inexcusable incompetence.”
“Thousands of our students were stranded and subjected to mental trauma across examination centres in the Southwest, particularly in Osun and Lagos States, due to WAEC’s failure to deliver question papers on time. What was meant to be a 2:00 PM exam turned into a nightmarish ordeal, with many students waiting hopelessly until after 8:00 PM,” the statement read.
“This is not just a delay — it is a blatant endangerment of students’ safety, a gross violation of their right to proper examination conditions, and an open assault on their future. In some centres, students were forced to write under torchlights. What kind of examination body subjects young minds to such inhuman treatment?”
NANS called on President Tinubu to intervene directly, stating, “This disaster contradicts the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda.’ How can there be hope when students are writing national exams in darkness?”
The student body also urged the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, to launch an immediate investigation and ensure disciplinary action against the responsible officials.
“We demand answers from the Head of WAEC, Dr. Amos Dangut. Under his leadership, WAEC has shown signs of decay. We will not remain silent while our comrades are turned into victims of administrative failure. If swift action is not taken to correct these abnormalities, NANS Southwest will mobilize our structures across campuses and streets to fight back against this attack on Nigerian students,” the statement concluded.
