Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Jigawa State Government has attributed the delay in the release of National Examinations Council results for students in public schools across the state to a failed bank transaction, saying the funds deposited with the examination body had bounced back and had to be reprocessed before the results could be accessed.
The 2026 NECO Senior School Certificate Examination results were released nationally on Wednesday, September 24, 2026, by the Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Professor Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi. However, students in public schools in Jigawa State found that their results were not showing on the NECO portal days after the national release, while their counterparts in private schools were able to access theirs. The delay caused anxiety among candidates, parents and guardians in Dutse, Hadejia and Gumel, many of whom took to the NECO portal repeatedly only to find no results displayed.
A student of Government Day Secondary School, Dutse, Ashiru Sani, said he and his classmates had been trying to check their results since the day after the national release, without success. "Since last Thursday when NECO released the results, we have been trying to check ours, but it is not showing. We are worried because our mates in private schools have seen theirs," Sani said. A parent in Takur-site, Malam Umar Garba, said two of his children who sat the examination in a public school had still not seen their results, and called on the state government to explain what was happening. Another guardian, Mrs Fatima Ali of Gida Dubu Quarters in Dutse, appealed to the state government to intervene quickly, noting that the children needed their results for admission purposes.
When contacted by journalists on Tuesday, the Jigawa State Commissioner for Higher Education, Professor Isa Chamo, explained that the delay was not intentional and was caused by a bank transaction failure. "The delay is not intentional. The funds we deposited to NECO bounced back due to some bank transaction issues. Immediately we noticed the transaction failed; we took immediate steps to rectify it and reprocess the payment," Chamo said. He said everything had now been settled and the situation had returned to normal, with NECO confirming receipt of the payment. The commissioner assured that students would be able to check their results on the NECO portal from 6 p.m. on Tuesday. "By 6 pm today, all our students in public schools will be able to check their results on the NECO portal without any hitch," he said. He appealed to parents, guardians and students to remain calm, assuring that the government remained committed to education. "No student will be left behind. The government of Governor Umar Namadi has paid all fees, and we have resolved all issues with NECO," Chamo added.
The incident is not the first time Jigawa has faced challenges with NECO examination fees. In August 2026, the Jigawa State Executive Council approved N1.05 billion to settle registration fees for 40,210 candidates sitting the 2026 external examinations, including 32,663 NECO candidates. In 2024, the state government approved N888 million for NECO and other examination registration charges, and in 2025 it released N317 million to NECO for the release of students' results after a previous withholding over outstanding debts. The pattern reflects a broader national challenge, as several states have repeatedly found their students' NECO results withheld over unpaid examination fees. In 2026, six states were reported to be owing NECO examination fees for the past three years, and the council has consistently withheld results as leverage to compel payment.
The national picture of the 2026 NECO results shows that 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics. The examination was held from June 15 to September 4, 2026, and results were released 63 days after the conclusion of the examinations. NECO also recorded a 64.74 per cent drop in malpractice cases compared with the previous year, a development the council attributed to improved examination administration and stronger enforcement. For Jigawa State, however, the national statistics were of little comfort to students who could not access their individual results, and the delay raised questions about the coordination between state governments and examination bodies.
The commissioner's assurance that the issue had been resolved brought a measure of relief to affected students, but the episode has highlighted the vulnerability of students to administrative and financial failures beyond their control. The delay in accessing results can have significant consequences for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions, particularly given the tight timelines for post-UTME screenings and admission processes. For the students of Jigawa public schools, the wait for their NECO results has been an anxious one, and the resolution of the payment issue has finally opened the door to the next stage of their academic journey. As Chamo put it, no student will be left behind, and the government of Governor Umar Namadi has paid all fees and resolved all issues with NECO.
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