Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has assured the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) of the state’s readiness to host the 2025 WAEC Nigerian National Council Meeting scheduled to hold in Umuahia from 17th to 21st November 2025.
Governor Otti gave the assurance while receiving a delegation from WAEC, led by the new Branch Controller, Mrs Mary Chima, and her management team, who paid him a courtesy visit in his Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South LGA office.
The Governor, who expressed happiness over the choice of Abia State to host this year’s WAEC council meeting, thanked the exam body for recognising Abia’s educational strides, adding that preparations were already underway to ensure a successful hosting.
“We already have receipt of your letter and have started making arrangements. I can assure you that we are prepared to host. We consider it a great privilege to be hosting this event. It aligns with everything we are doing with education,” Governor Otti stated.
He recalled that upon assuming office in 2023, his administration declared a state of emergency on education, health, security, and environmental sanitation due to years of neglect in the sectors.
“Education was in a very terrible state, not just in terms of infrastructure that completely decayed in virtually all the schools, but also in terms of the quality of teaching and the number of teachers,” he said.
He explained that his administration had embarked on massive school rehabilitation, teacher recruitment, training, and the introduction of smart schools to raise learning standards.
Governor Otti stated that over 5,394 new teachers had resumed work under the first phase of recruitment, with plans to hire nearly 5,000 more to improve the teacher-student ratio.
He appreciated WAEC for acknowledging the state’s performance in examinations, noting that the administration’s focus was on building a sound educational foundation rather than chasing statistics.
“We are not really focusing on doing well in WAEC. We just want our people to be well-educated, well-taught. Once we continue what we are doing, the results will show,” he said.
Earlier, the WAEC Branch Controller, Mrs Mary Chima, said Abia was chosen to host the 2025 National Council Meeting in recognition of Governor Otti’s “exceptional commitment to educational excellence, discipline, and reform.”
“Under your visionary leadership, sir, Abia has maintained a top record of performance in WAEC examinations nationwide. Abia upheld strict compliance with examination ethics and gave WAEC unprecedented cooperation,” she said.
Mrs Chima lauded the Governor for the launch of transformative initiatives such as AbiaFest and the training of over 11,000 teachers, as well as for ensuring that the 2024 WAEC Mathematics examination held peacefully across the state despite threats from non-state actors.
“This is a landmark moment that underscored the protection of education and the future of Abia’s children,” she said.
She explained that the WAEC Nigerian National Council Meeting is the highest policy-making body of the Council in the country, bringing together state commissioners for education, heads of WAEC offices, and senior national officers to deliberate on policies and performance indices.
“In recognition of Abia’s readiness and the government’s warm acceptance to host this important meeting, WAEC extended a special gesture to the state, granting free access to educational statistics and data of the best three candidates in Abia State,” she added.
Mrs Chima also informed the Governor that prizes worth ₦10.775 million would be presented to the three best schools in the state whose students excelled in the 2024 WASSCE for School Candidates.
