NECO 2026 results out after admission deadlines trap candidates
The National Examinations Council released the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination results on September 24, 63 days after the last paper was written on July 23. Of the 1,371,992 candidates who sat, 804,948 (58.67%) obtained at least five credits including English and Mathematics. However, many universities had already closed their OLevel upload windows before the results were available. The University of Lagos set an August 24 deadline for uploading WAEC, NECO, GCE and Cambridge results to JAMB CAPS and its portal, exactly one month before NECO’s release. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka allowed candidates who had marked ‘Awaiting Result’ to upload or replace results until September 30. The University of Ilorin reopened its portal from September 28 to September 30 at 11:59 p.m. for candidates awaiting NECO outcomes. The University of Abuja extended its Post‑UTME and Direct Entry screening until October 4, while the Federal University of Lafia pushed its deadline to October 4 and Nasarawa State University, Keffi extended to October 14. Candidates described the uncertainty as stressful, with some incurring extra travel and costs to meet reopened windows. NECO Registrar Professor Dantani Wushishi said the timetable will not change and urged admission bodies to align calendars. JAMB noted it does not currently track how many candidates await OLevel results, but acknowledged such data would aid planning.
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It affected someone I know. The school he applied to has granted admission to most people after they presented their WAEC results, but the delay in the NECO result has slowed down his admission process, giving him slimmer chances of being admitted.