The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies on Monday passed a resolution compelling the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to submit a comprehensive audit of its digital infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas, as well as a detailed roadmap on its readiness to move all its examinations to Computer-Based Test (CBT) by 2026.

The committee also called for a national education summit to assess the actual state of secondary school infrastructure across the country.

The committee gave these directives during an investigative hearing at the National Assembly on the widespread irregularities and operational lapses that characterised the conduct of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

In the course of the 2025 WASSCE examinations, some candidates were compelled to sit for the English Language Paper 2 under extreme conditions in some parts of the country.

Grilling the Head of WAEC, Nigeria, Dr Amos Dangut, on Monday, Chairman of the Committee, Oboku Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa), demanded an explanation, saying Nigerians, and especially the parents of the affected candidates, deserve an explanation from WAEC.

“This committee wants to know, parents and Nigerians want to know, we owe them a duty of care, and to whom much is given, much is expected; monies were appropriated by Parliament for the conduct of these examinations,” Oforji said.

“We are not trying to kill a fly with a sledgehammer as a committee, but like I said in the last meeting, we need to know the immediate and remote causes of the woeful conduct of the examinations, and in doing this we may forestall a future occurrence,” he said.

On behalf of the committee, Oforji apologised to parents, guardians and candidates for WAEC’s poor performance, restating the committee’s commitment to restoring “dignity and credibility to our examination system” and “ensuring this never happens again”.

Responding to the lawmakers’ queries, Dr. Dangut blamed the irregularities on the council’s attempt to protect the integrity of the examination, unforeseen logistical challenges and insecurity in parts of the country.

He explained that WAEC only prints 50 per cent of its question papers and outsources the other 50 per cent and so has to rely on road transport to convey the papers to the various centres.

“The events that led to that unfortunate situation started just about three days to the conduct of that examination. We were given what looked to be a compromised examination, and we swung into action, knowing the implication of having a compromised examination. Now, we went into the drawing board. We looked at strategies, and we strategized to ensure that the paper was not compromised,” Dangut said.

“I want to inform you and Nigerians that we were able to achieve that, but unfortunately, much regretted, it opened up another problem, and that problem was the late commencement of the examination,” he said.

The WAEC Nigeria boss said the examination was originally scheduled for 2pm, but it eventually started at 7pm in some of the areas affected, with teachers, invigilators, supervisors, and parents providing lights for the candidates.

But lawmakers dismissed the excuses as inadequate and unacceptable.

“It is unacceptable that in 2025, students are sitting for exams at 11 pm under torchlight. This is not just a failure of logistics, it is a failure of leadership,” Oforji said.

The lawmakers generally expressed displeasure over what they termed WAEC’s “habitual negligence” and “lack of preparation”, with one lawmaker asking Dr Dangut to “admit your failure to the Nigerian people” and “tender your resignation”.

They also criticized WAEC for talking about moving all its examinations to CBT by 2026 when many local governments lack a single CBT centre.

“That’s like saying you own a car and a driver, but there’s no road. It’s fantasy, not capacity,” Oforji said.

At the close of the session, the House committee directed WAEC to submit a comprehensive audit of its digital infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas, and a detailed roadmap on its CBT readiness. It also directed the council to furnish the National Assembly with its full operational guidelines and all reports relating to examination paper leakages.

“This is a defining moment. We must insist on competence, honesty, and reform. Education is too critical to be managed by trial and error. The future of our children, and our nation, is at stake,” Oforji said.