The National Examinations Council, NECO, has released the NECO 2026 SSCE results in Minna, Niger State, on Thursday, September 24, 2026, with 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtaining at least five credits including English Language and Mathematics.
NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, announced the results at a press conference at the council’s headquarters, 63 days after the completion of the examination.
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A total of 1,378,048 candidates registered for the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination, SSCE Internal, while 1,371,992 eventually sat for the examination.
The candidates comprised 678,903 males and 693,089 females, according to figures presented by Wushishi.
Beyond the benchmark involving English Language and Mathematics, NECO reported that 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained at least five credits in relevant subjects, irrespective of their performance in the two core subjects.
The examination was conducted across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as six foreign countries, including Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Saudi Arabia.
Wushishi said the 63-day period before the release of the results was required to complete marking, verification and quality-assurance procedures.
He described the 2026 examination cycle as challenging for the council, while stressing the importance of ensuring that certificates issued to candidates accurately reflected their academic performance.
One of the notable developments was a sharp reduction in examination malpractice.
NECO recorded 1,406 candidates involved in various forms of malpractice in 2026, compared with 3,878 candidates in 2025. The council said this represented a 64.74 per cent reduction.
Wushishi attributed the improvement to sustained efforts to strengthen examination security and quality assurance, alongside the support of security agencies.
The registrar specifically acknowledged the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Services for their role in maintaining security during the examination.
The 2026 examination also included 1,334 candidates with special needs. The group included candidates with hearing and visual impairments, albinism, autism, low vision and adermatoglyphia.
The figures provide a broader picture of the examination beyond the headline pass rate, with the majority of candidates securing at least five credits when English Language and Mathematics are excluded from the requirement.
Candidates can now access their individual results through the official NECO results portal using their examination details and a result token.
The release also marks another stage in NECO’s efforts to improve the speed, security and credibility of its examination processes.
Wushishi thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Education Minister Dr Olatunji Alausa and Minister of State for Education Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad for their support, while assuring candidates, parents, schools and other stakeholders that the council would continue working to protect the integrity of its examinations.
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The NECO 2026 SSCE results therefore arrive with two prominent developments: 804,948 candidates achieved the five-credit benchmark including English Language and Mathematics, while reported examination malpractice fell significantly compared with the previous year.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
