Becky Momodu
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal, with 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
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Registrar of NECO, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, announced the results on Thursday at a press conference in Minna, Niger State, 63 days after the last paper of the examination was written.
Wushishi said 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination, while 1,371,992 candidates sat for the exercise, which commenced on June 15 and ended on July 23, 2026.
According to him, 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above, irrespective of their performance in English Language and Mathematics.
The registrar also announced a sharp decline in examination malpractice, revealing that 1,406 candidates were involved in various forms of malpractice in 2026, compared with 3,878 candidates recorded in 2025.
He said the latest figure represented a 64.74 per cent reduction in examination malpractice.
Wushishi attributed the improvement partly to the vigilance and support of security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Department of State Services (DSS), during the examination.
He said the presence of the security agencies helped reinforce discipline, deter wrongdoing and protect the integrity of the examination.
The registrar thanked President Bola Tinubu for reappointing him for a second tenure and commended the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, for his confidence in his leadership.
Wushishi reassured stakeholders that NECO would continue to uphold the integrity of its examinations and remain committed to its statutory mandate.
In the state-by-state performance, Kano emerged as the leading state, with 74,413 candidates recording five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
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Lagos followed with 72,496 candidates, while Oyo placed third with 55,543 candidates meeting the same benchmark.
Wushishi, however, said NECO centres in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Niger Republic recorded no candidate with five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
He added that the Southwest recorded the highest performance among the geopolitical zones, with 24.60 per cent of candidates obtaining five credits and above irrespective of their performance in English Language and Mathematics.
The Northwest followed with 22.10 per cent, North Central with 19.00 per cent, Northeast with 14.70 per cent, South-South with 10.53 per cent and Southeast with 9.07 per cent.
The registrar said the council also compiled separate performance rankings based on gender and candidates who obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
In the North Central, Benue led the state ranking with 3.82 per cent, followed by Nasarawa with 3.66 per cent, while other states recorded varying levels of performance.
For the Northeast, Adamawa featured among the leading states, followed by Bauchi, Borno, Yobe and Gombe, while Kano topped the Northwest ranking ahead of Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and Jigawa.
In the Southeast, Anambra led with 2.92 per cent, followed by Enugu with 2.14 per cent. Ebonyi and Abia recorded 1.15 per cent and 0.57 per cent respectively.
The male ranking in the zone also placed Anambra ahead with 2.47 per cent, followed by Enugu with 1.79 per cent, while the female ranking recorded Anambra at 3.82 per cent and Enugu at 2.45 per cent.
In the South-South, Rivers topped the ranking with 3.03 per cent, followed by Edo with 2.17 per cent, Delta with 1.84 per cent, Akwa Ibom with 1.61 per cent and Cross River with 1.30 per cent.
For male candidates in the zone, Rivers recorded 2.85 per cent, Edo 2.06 per cent, Delta 1.79 per cent, Akwa Ibom 1.48 per cent and Cross River 1.21 per cent.
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Among female candidates, Rivers recorded 3.19 per cent, followed by Edo with 2.28 per cent, Akwa Ibom with 1.73 per cent, Cross River with 1.37 per cent and Delta with 1.29 per cent.
Wushishi said the detailed rankings were contained in the statistical tables accompanying the 2026 SSCE Internal results, covering candidates’ performance by geopolitical zone, state and gender.