Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf has come under scrutiny after claiming that his state emerged as the best-performing in the 2025 National Examinations Council (NECO) internal Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE).
A review of the official results, however, shows Kano placed near the bottom.
Governor Yusuf had announced the supposed feat in a Facebook post, attributing the success to reforms under his administration.
“It is heartwarming that Kano State has emerged as the best-performing state in the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE Internal), conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO),” he wrote.
“This unprecedented success reflects our education-driven leadership, which has consistently placed funding, infrastructure, and access to learning at the top of our government’s priorities,” the governor added.
Claims versus independent verification
Mr. Yusuf also asserted that Lagos and Oyo followed Kano as second and third in the rankings.
His remarks were carried by several national outlets, including Tribune, Business Day, Guardian, Channels Television, and TVC.
But a Premium Times investigation into the official data shows otherwise.
Kano did not rank first or even among the top states.
Instead, the state recorded one of the lowest performances nationwide, with more than half of its candidates failing to secure five credits, including English and Mathematics.
What Kano led in was population size, not performance.
The state accounted for over 10 per cent of the candidates who sat the examination but produced just five per cent of those who passed with five credits, including English and Mathematics.
Bottom 10 ranking
By pass rate, Kano ranked 29th out of Nigeria’s 37 regions (including the Federal Capital Territory).
The state outperformed only eight northern states: Yobe, Adamawa, Plateau, Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto.
Announcing the release of the results last week, NECO Registrar Dantani Wushishi said 1,358,339 candidates – comprising 680,292 males and 678,047 females – sat the examination.
Of these, 60.26 per cent (818,492 candidates) obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.
Mr. Wushishi added that 84.26 per cent of candidates secured five credits and above, irrespective of English and Mathematics, marking a general improvement compared to previous years.
Abia leads the nation
A breakdown of the data revealed Abia State as the true top performer in 2025.
According to NECO records, 83.31 per cent of the 11,260 candidates from Abia passed with at least five credits, including English and Mathematics – the highest rate in the country.
According to the report, Abia, not Kano, at the tops Nigeria’s 2025 NECO rankings.
