On May 24, 2025, the Zamfara State Government announced that it had settled all outstanding debts owed the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) for five years respectively. However, the affected students their results are yet to be released, a situation that has forced many of them into mining and menial jobs. Wekend Trust spotlights the issues.
It was reported that the state owed the two examination bodies billions of naira as outstanding examination fees from 2018 to 2022 (WAEC) and from 2024 to 2018 respectively. The money accumulated during the previous administrations in the state.
But according to a statement by Sulaiman Bala Idris, the spokesperson to Governor Dauda Lawal, the examination bodies have released all results withheld due to none payment of the fees.
On the part of the National Examination Council (NECO), the statement added that Governor Lawal has paid a sum of N320, 699, 850.00 to settle a debt owed the council from 2020 to 2021.
“The previous administrations from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 failed to pay the National Examination Council (NECO) the sum of one billion and twenty-two million naira, a reason the council decided to withhold the results of Zamfara students who sat during that period,” the statement indicated.
Though the statement was not clear on how much the state government paid to WAEC, it revealed that “For the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Governor Dauda Lawal has paid the outstanding of one billion four hundred million naira the previous administrations owed from 2018 to 2022.
The statement further indicated that Governor Lawal, after approving the payment of the withheld NECO results from 2014 to 2018, an agreement was reached to release the results immediately after receiving the first batch of the payment.
“The payment of the outstanding debt to WAEC and NECO by the Governor Lawal-led administration has relieved the stranded Zamfara students, who completed their final exams but could not proceed due to withholding of their results by the two examination bodies,” the statement concluded.
Weekend Trust observed that the non-payment of fees for WAEC and NECO by successive administrations in Zamfara State had caused a serious setback for public schools in the state, a situation that contributed to the placement of the state at the bottom of educational indices across Nigeria.
However, three months after the claims by the Zamfara State Government on the payment of all outstanding debts owed the two examination bodies, the affected students and their parents have expressed concerns over alleged continued withholding of results by both WAEC and NECO.
Further findings indicate that the delay in paying the examination fees had compelled many of the affected students to abandon schools and engage in menial jobs, especially local mining.
While some of the affected students have engaged in various small businesses within the state capital, many others have relocated to various locations of illegal gold mining spread across the state.
Weekend Trust also gathered that others travelled to other cities, including Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Port-Harcourt, Lagos, as well as Niger Republic engaging in small businesses for a living.
One of the affected students who finished from secondary school in 2020 but joined local mining in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of the state, said he had decided not to go back school, noting, “I have gotten a job for myself. With mining, I am getting what I want for a living.
“I am earning more than my needs from the local mining. Although it is not a type of business you earn every day, on the lucky day you can get what will sustain you for several months or even years, depending on what you get. If you are lucky you can get gold worth millions of naira.
“I am no longer interested in going back to school because I am taking care of aged parents from the earnings of local mining. And I believe that even if I get married I would be able to sustain my family with this little business. Several of my colleagues in the mining business have wives and children and they are sustaining their families with this business,” he saif.
Similarly, Abdulsalam Sani of Sabon Gari Quarters, Gusau, said the delay in the release of his result had killed his thirst for education.
“The delay has killed my morale. As I speak to you, I have decided not to go back to school; rather, I now engage in carpentry.
“Also, many of my classmates have relocated to other local governments in Zamfara State for gold mining. I know about 30 of my classmates who travelled to Niger Republic for menial jobs. They are also into carpentry and other handcrafts for a living and are making progress in their lives,” he noted.
We’re awaiting the release of our results
Some of the affected students and parents who spoke to Weekend Trust insisted that many results of the affected students had not been released by the two examination bodies despite claims by the present government of settling all the debts the state owed WAEC and NECO for the period under review.
Faruk Lauwali, who finished from secondary school in 2018, is yet to collect his results over his state government’s alleged inability to pay the exam fees. Lauwali said about 200 of them had not collected their results, noting that dozens of his colleagues had abandoned school for local mining.
“Most of my colleagues have joined the local mining. They have abandoned school and gone into the bush in search of gold and other mineral resources.
“Had it been the government settled the backlog of payments, the examination bodies would have released the results and most of us would have proceeded with our educational pursuit. We heard the state government had settled the backlog of WAEC and NECO fees, but sincerely speaking, our results have not been released; and that is an indication that the government’s claims are just political statements,” he said.
Lauwali added that the delay in releasing the results had forced many of the affected students to travel to other places in search of menial jobs, saying, “Many of the affected students have travelled to Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port-Harcourt, Kaduna and other big cities in search of menial jobs. Others are engaged in gold mining activities.”
Another student, Abdulsalam Sani of Sabon Gari Quarters, Gusau, also hasn’t collected his results despite the state government’s claims of settling the outstanding examination debts. Sani, who finished from Jan-Bolo Secondary School, Gusau in 2014 also confirmed that their results had not been released.
“Any time I visited the school and asked for my result, I was always told that it had not been released. I have visited my former school four times, and on each visit, I was told that the results had not been released. The last time I visited the school, I met many of my classmates who also visited for similar purposes.
“For now, I am not thinking of going back to school because I don’t have the means to sponsor myself. I don’t know, maybe in the future, if God provides me with the means, I will surely go back to school to further my education. Most of the affected students, with the exception of few who sat for another WAEC and NECO and proceeded with their studies, have abandoned schools for menial jobs,” he said.
Sani, therefore, appealed to the Zamfara State Government to come to their aid by settling the outstanding payments of both WAEC and NECO to enable the affected students proceed with their education, noting that the majority of the affected students could not afford to sponsor themselves for another exam.
Yazidu Nasiru, another affected student, told Weekend Trust that he sat for both WAEC and NECO in 2015 but the results of both examinations were not released, saying, “I have wasted 10 years doing nothing. The government is just talking about the payments, but in reality, the government did not pay the outstanding debts it owes the two examination bodies.
“Some of my classmates who have the means have graduated from tertiary institutions and undergone the national youth service. But for others like us who don’t have the means, we did not continue with our education beyond secondary school level. Many students who were far behind us in secondary school are now in their final year while others have graduated, but we are still waiting for our O’Level results.
“I had wanted to sit for private WAEC and NECO but because I don’t have the means to sponsor myself, I could not proceed. If the claims by the Zamfara State Government were true, we would have since collected our results and continued with our studies; but unfortunately, we still await the release our results due to government’s inability to settle the payments.”
Another student who craved anonymity said he finished in 2015 and had not collected his result, noting that they only heard on the news that the Zamfara State Government had paid all the outstanding WAEC and NECO examination fees, but their results have not been released.
He expressed concern over the delay in releasing the results, saying, “The danger associated with the delay in releasing the results is that some of the affected students might have engaged in various crimes, including banditry. It is easier for youths to engage in banditry because an idle mind is the devil’s workshop – their minds can think anyhow. Even the affected students claiming to have joined gold mining for living have the tendency of joining banditry if care is not taken. This is because gold mining and banditry are twins. They complement each other,” he concluded.
Parents call on government for immediate action
Muhammad Nasir, a father of one of the affected students, expressed concern over the government’s inability to settle the outstanding examination fees, lamenting that parents of the students demand nothing from the government other than to settle the backlog of the debts.
Nasir said things were hard and the parents of the affected students could not afford sponsoring their children to sit for another exam, saying, “At present we are facing serious difficulties in feeding our families. We are not financially capable to sponsor our children due to the economic hardship in the country.”
“My son has not collected his results despite government’s claims of paying the outstanding debts. We have checked the results several times, but anytime we checked, we would be told that it was not released. We have checked for about five times but all in vain. Our children are stranded at home.
“They are doing nothing at home. We want the government to come to our rescue by paying the backlog of examination fees. My son finished in 2020. We are worried about their condition and want the government to revisit this issue and address it once and for all.”
Another father, Ibrahim Isyaku, appealed to Governor Dauda Lawal to revisit the issue, with a view to addressing the matter so that their children would continue with their studies.
“We know the problem did not emanate from the present administration, but for the fact that the students are indigenes of Zamfara State, the government should, out of concern, ensure the payment of the debts.
“We appreciate government’s efforts, but we want to see it on ground. If the government really paid money, it should follow it up with the two examination bodies and find out why the results are not released. Our money should not go in vain. And if the government did not pay the outstanding examination fees, we are appealing to the governor to pay it.
“We want our children to go back to school. We are afraid that if care is not taken, there are tendencies that our children may join illegal activities, such illegal mining; and God forbid, they can even join banditry. I am appealing to Governor Dauda to come to our rescue by investigating this matter and taking the necessary actions.”
Matawalle reacts
Commenting on the outstanding examination fees, Dr Sulaiman S. Shinkafi, an aide to a former governor of the state, Alhaji Bello Muhammad Matawalle, said the Governor Dauda-led administration was only beating around the bush, adding that the government has not paid the backlog of the examination fees.
He said: “My boss set aside the outstanding money and was willing to pay, but along the line, we discovered that some ghost students were included in the list, with a view to siphoning the money paid as their examination fees. Because of this development, an investigative panel was set up and directed to investigate the matter and report back to the government within three months.
“However, before then, election started and the governor directed that the payment should be suspended and the money kept until it was over. Unfortunately, my boss lost the election to Governor Dauda, who took over the government and squandered the money meant for the payment of the fees.
“We left over N11 billion in the government’s treasury, but all the money was squandered and the outstanding examination fees were not settled.”
However, the Commissioner for Information in the state, Alhaji Muhammad Mahmud Dantawasa, disputed Dr Shinkafi’s claims, saying, “We did’nt find any money kept in government treasury meant for payment of WAEC and NECO examinations. When we took over, we only found N4 million in one of government’s accounts.
“If it is true that the Matawalle-led government left huge money in government’s treasury, why did the former governor fail to pay workers’ salaries? The man that failed to pay workers’ salaries will now claim to have left billions in government’s treasury? This is not possible.”
On the withheld WAEC and NECO results, Dantawasa insisted that the Governor Lawal-led administration had settled all the outstanding examination fees from 2017 till date, alleging that only those found wanting in examination malpractice were yet to recieve theirs.
“You know that both WAEC and NECO have the policy of withholding the results of the students found wanting in examination malpractice. We have the records of payments of all the backlog of the exam fees. Anybody that is in doubt is free to come forward and we can provide him with evidence,” he concluded.