The Federal Government has debunked a false online report claiming the cancellation of the 2025 West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations due to widespread malpractice.

In a statement on Sunday signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade, it gave clarification that the 2025 WAEC exams have been concluded with minimal incidents of malpractice, which were promptly addressed.

The Ministry also gave assurances that the ongoing NECO exams are proceeding without reported cases of malpractice.

It called on the public to discountenance the fake news and seek information from verified sources, including the official websites of the Ministry, WAEC, and NECO.

The Ministry warned that spreading false information will be investigated and prosecuted.

The statement reads: “The 2025 WAEC Examinations have been successfully concluded, with only a few isolated incidents of malpractice reported, all of which were promptly addressed by the relevant authorities.

“The ongoing NECO Examinations are progressing smoothly, and as of this release, no cases of examination malpractice have been reported.

“The Federal Ministry of Education has not received any official communication or report from WAEC, NECO, or any examination body regarding widespread malpractice in either of the examinations.

“The Ministry, therefore, urges students, parents, school administrators, and the general public to disregard the fake press release currently in circulation. It is entirely fabricated, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary panic and confusion”.

The false statement, styled as an “urgent notice” dated July 19, 2025, and purportedly signed by one Dr. (Mrs.) Aisha Lawal, claimed that the Ministry had cancelled the 2025 WASSCE due to widespread examination malpractice, question leakages, and the use of artificial intelligence to facilitate cheating. It alleged that all previously written papers from May 6 to July 18 had been nullified and promised a new timetable by August 5.

It had claimed, among other allegations, that the examination was cancelled due to leaked exam papers circulating up to 72 hours before scheduled papers; AI-generated answers and remote cheating tools being used en masse; compromised WAEC staff involved in unauthorised distribution; over 480 flagged centres with coordinated cheating patterns.

However, WAEC’s rebuttal indicates that none of these claims are valid, and that no such decision has been taken either by WAEC or in consultation with the Ministry of Education.

As of Saturday, there was no corroborating announcement from any verified government or WAEC platform.