The National Examinations Council (NECO) has apologised to candidates and other stakeholders over the continued delay in releasing the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal results, weeks after the council had projected that the results would be available by the first week of September.
In a message to candidates, the examination body acknowledged the anxiety caused by the delay and appealed for patience and understanding, assuring them that the results could be released at any moment as the process had reached its final stage.
The latest assurance comes after NECO missed a release timeline announced by its Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi, in July, when he said the results would be ready by the first week of September or even earlier.
At the time, Wushishi linked the expected faster turnaround to the introduction of computer-based testing for part of the 2026 examination. He said the new system would shorten the marking and processing period and enable candidates to obtain their results in time for tertiary admission exercises.
The 2026 SSCE ended on July 23, meaning the wait has now extended well beyond the point at which NECO released last year’s results. The 2025 SSCE results were released on September 17, exactly 54 days after the final written paper.
The pattern in previous years shows that NECO has generally released its internal SSCE results within about two months of the final examination. The 2024 results were released 55 days after the last paper, while the 2023 results came after 58 days. In 2022, the council released the results after 45 days.
The 2026 delay is therefore notable not only because the earlier September target has passed, but because the council had specifically indicated that the shift towards computer-based examinations would help reduce the time required to process results.
The examination was also significant as part of NECO’s wider transition towards CBT. In July, Wushishi said 1,378,048 candidates had registered for the 2026 SSCE and reported that no technical problems had been recorded during the CBT component at the time of inspection. He expressed confidence that the results could be released before or by the first week of September.
That expectation raised the stakes for candidates preparing for tertiary education, particularly those whose admission processes require the submission of O’level results.
Universities and other tertiary institutions have been progressing with their 2026/2027 admission activities, although their deadlines and requirements differ. For candidates relying on their NECO results, the delay has created uncertainty over when they can present their final O’level grades for screening, documentation or other admission-related processes.
The situation also means that candidates who have already completed their examinations are still unable to determine their final performance, even as many of their peers who sat other examinations move ahead with admission processes.
NECO has not, in its latest message, provided a detailed explanation for why the earlier first-week-of-September target was missed. Instead, the council has said that processing is now at the final stage and that the results may be released at any moment.
The council’s latest position represents a shift from the earlier timetable rather than a new definite release date. Candidates have therefore been asked to continue waiting for an official announcement.
Earlier, The Nigeria Education News reported on September 15 that NECO had missed its projected first-week-of-September release window, noting that the delay had become particularly significant as tertiary institutions advanced their 2026/2027 admission exercises.
The report also examined NECO’s previous result-release timelines and the council’s July assurance that the adoption of CBT would help accelerate the marking and processing of the 2026 examination.
With NECO now apologising and saying the results are at the final stage, attention has shifted from whether the results will be released within the original September window to how soon the council can complete the remaining processes and provide candidates with access to their results.
For the candidates who have been waiting since the examination ended in July, the immediate expectation is now a formal release announcement from NECO rather than another projected timeline.
