The NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, disclosed this on Thursday while announcing the results at the council’s headquarters in Minna, Niger State.
Wushishi said 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 682,352 males and 695,696 females, while 1,371,992 candidates eventually sat for the examination.
Of those who sat for the examination, 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above irrespective of whether English Language and Mathematics were included.
The Registrar said 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtained five credits and above including both English Language and Mathematics.
On examination malpractice, Wushishi said 1,406 candidates were involved in various forms of malpractice in 2026, compared with 3,878 candidates recorded in 2025.
The figure represents a reduction of 2,472 cases, or about 63.8 per cent, compared with the previous year.
He attributed the decline to intensified monitoring of the examination by members of the Governing Board, management and senior staff of the council.
Wushishi said the council maintained its zero-tolerance policy towards malpractice, adding that the examination had tested its systems and processes from planning to the release of the results.
He said the marking exercise was concluded on September 4, while the results were released 63 days after the examination commenced.
The Registrar said the results went through extensive coordination, assessment, verification and quality assurance procedures to ensure that they reflected candidates’ actual academic performance.
He said, “Your intellectual rigour, meticulous attention to quality and commitment to ethical standards have ensured that we deliver results that are credible and trusted by the students, institutions and the public.”
“The success of this exercise is not accidental; it is as a result of consistent commitment across directorates and departments,” he added.
The examination also recorded the participation of 1,334 candidates with special needs. They included 640 candidates with hearing impairment, 149 with visual impairment, 84 with albinism, 94 with autism, 136 with low vision and 231 with adermatoglyphia.
The 2026 SSCE Internal was conducted across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as in six foreign countries: Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Saudi Arabia.
Wushishi said the results were now available through the NECO website, with candidates required to use their examination registration numbers to access them.
He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support and for reappointing him for a second term, as well as the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad.
The results release was also marked by the presentation of medals to NECO sportsmen and women who represented the council in various sporting competitions in 2026.
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