Headlines
Candidates No Longer Ready to Study, WAEC Laments, Releases Results, Withholds 365,564
The West African Examinations Council has released the 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results for school and withheld the results of 365,564 candidates in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.
While announcing the release of the results on Monday at the WAEC office, Yaba, Head of Nigeria National Office, Mr Patrick Areghan, said students’ preparations for the examinations were poor, adding that candidates were no longer ready to learn.
He explained that the 365,564 candidates represented 22.83% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, saying the number was 11.74% higher than the 10.9% recorded in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2021.
Areghan said, ‘‘Reasons for this are not far-fetched. Candidates are no longer ready to learn. Preparations for examinations are poor. There is over-reliance on the so-called ‘Expo’, which is actually non-existent. Candidates simply got frustrated when they got into the examination hall and discovered that all they had celebrated was fake. This has pitiably led to some of them failing the examination, which if they had relied on themselves and studied hard, would have passed like many others.’’
While giving the performance analysis, he revealed that 88.04% of the candidates who sat the 2022 WASSCE obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics and 76.36% obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Areghan revealed that a total of 1,607,981 candidates registered for the examination from 20,222 recognised secondary schools in the country, adding that of the number that registered for the examination, 1,601,047 candidates sat the examination.
“The analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination shows that out of the 1,601,047 candidates that sat the examination, 1,409,529 candidates, representing 88.04%, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics;
“1,222,505 candidates, representing 76.36%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.”
Areghan stressed that the results of candidates who were sponsored by States indebted to the Council would not be released until they pay up.
“The results are being uploaded on the results website. Candidates who sat the examination and who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Council can access their results on the Council’s results website within the next twelve hours.
“Copies of the Result Listing will be sent to schools shortly. I need not restate the fact that the results of candidates who are sponsored by States indebted to the Council will not be released now until they pay up. We appeal to them to do so to enable the affected schools/candidates to access their results.”
He lamented that the increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and non-adherence to registration deadline were nagging issues.
‘‘This was perhaps the highest headache the Council encountered on the road to the conduct of the examination. Some schools simply ‘slept off’ and failed to do the needful.
‘‘Some failed to upload their students’ CASS at the stipulated time and many failed to meet registration deadlines, to the extent that some schools ended up not presenting their students for the examination. Yet, some who registered their students offline failed to upload their entries! Again, others failed to meet deadlines due to criminal ‘shopping’ for candidates. By the time they realized it, the window had closed,’’ said Areghan.
The Punch
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
