The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), demanding its appearance before the panel on Friday, May 30, 2025, to address widespread concerns over the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Oboku Oforji, issued the directive on Thursday, following WAEC’s failure to honour an earlier invitation to explain the mounting irregularities plaguing the nationwide examination.
According to Hon. Oforji, WAEC was initially summoned on Tuesday, May 27, to clarify various disruptions reportedly affecting the credibility and smooth conduct of the exams across several centres in the country. He expressed disappointment that the Council failed to appear before the Committee during the scheduled hearing on Thursday, May 29.
“The examinations have been riddled with serious irregularities. We’ve received disturbing reports of students sitting for papers as late as midnight in some centres,” Oforji stated.
He criticised WAEC’s excuse that it could not appear before the Committee due to its involvement in the ongoing exams, describing it as ironic and unacceptable.
“This is exactly why we need WAEC to appear—because of the chaos these ongoing exams are causing. It is not just about administrative failure; it is about the trauma and confusion being inflicted on young candidates,” he added.
The lawmaker stressed that the Committee’s intent is not to antagonise the examination body but to uncover the root causes of the crisis, ease public anxiety, and prevent future occurrences.
“WAEC has conducted examinations for decades, but the scale of disorganisation we are witnessing now is unprecedented. Something is clearly wrong and must be urgently addressed,” he said.
Oforji warned that failure to appear on Friday would leave the House with no option but to invoke its constitutional powers to compel compliance.
“We expect WAEC to appear unfailingly. If not, we will be forced to take appropriate legislative actions as empowered by the Constitution,” he declared.
