Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the reported cases of students writing the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in dark and unfit conditions across several examination centres in the country.
By Chimezie Godfrey
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the reported cases of students writing the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in dark and unfit conditions across several examination centres in the country.
Describing the situation as a “national disgrace,” Atiku expressed deep concern over the infrastructural failures that led to students sitting for a crucial examination under such deplorable circumstances. The incident occurred just a day after the global celebration of International Children’s Day, which he said added “a layer of shame” to an already appalling situation.
“It is unacceptable, unjustifiable, and utterly indefensible that in 2025, our children are forced to write critical national exams in pitch darkness like second-class citizens,” Atiku said in a statement released on Wednesday.
He called for urgent government intervention, stating that this was not an isolated failure, but “a damning indictment of systemic collapse in the public education sector.”
Atiku demanded that the examination paper written under compromised conditions be retaken nationwide in all affected centres. He stressed that allowing the results to stand would constitute a grave injustice to the students involved.
“Examination preparedness is a shared responsibility between students and the examination authorities. In this case, it is glaringly evident that the latter have failed spectacularly in their duty,” the former Vice President added.
He further urged relevant authorities, including the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the Federal Ministry of Education, to immediately put in place minimum infrastructural and environmental standards for all national examinations.
Atiku warned that without decisive action, such occurrences could become normalized, deepening the crisis of confidence in the country’s educational system.
“We must never allow such a shameful scenario to repeat itself — not under our watch,” he said.
The full extent of the disruption caused by the poor examination conditions is still being assessed, but the development has sparked widespread outrage among parents, education advocates, and civil society groups.
Efforts to reach WAEC officials for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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