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The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal, with 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, announced the results at a news conference at the council’s headquarters in Minna, Niger State, on Thursday.

According to him, 1,378,048 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 682,352 males and 695,696 females, while 1,371,992 candidates, made up of 678,903 males and 693,089 females, eventually sat for it.

Wushishi said 1,162,118 candidates, representing 84.70 per cent, obtained five credits and above, irrespective of their performance in English Language and Mathematics.

He, however, said 804,948 candidates, representing 58.67 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

The examination was conducted across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as six foreign countries: Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Saudi Arabia.

Wushishi said the results were released 63 days after the conclusion of the examination, following the completion of marking, verification and quality assurance processes.

He described the 2026 examination cycle as one of the most challenging for the council, saying it had tested NECO’s systems, processes and readiness.

The registrar also announced a significant reduction in examination malpractice, with 1,406 candidates involved in various forms of malpractice in 2026, compared with 3,878 candidates recorded in 2025.

He said this represented a 64.74 per cent reduction in examination malpractice.

Wushishi attributed the decline to the council’s sustained efforts to strengthen examination security and quality assurance, noting that the deployment of technology, including Computer-Based Examination (CBE), had also contributed to the reduction.

Giving a breakdown of candidates’ performance by geopolitical zones, Wushishi said the Southwest recorded the highest proportion of candidates who obtained five credits and above, irrespective of performance in English Language and Mathematics.

He said the Southwest accounted for 24.60 per cent of the performance, followed by the Northwest with 22.10 per cent, North Central with 19.00 per cent, Northeast with 14.70 per cent, South-South with 10.53 per cent and Southeast with 9.07 per cent.

At the state level, Kano recorded the highest number of candidates who obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, with 74,413 candidates.

Lagos followed with 72,496 candidates, while Oyo came third with 55,543 candidates.

Wushishi said the detailed statistical tables also provided separate rankings by geopolitical zone, state, gender and candidates who obtained five credits and above, with or without English Language and Mathematics.

In the North Central, Benue led the state-level ranking with 3.82 per cent, followed by Nasarawa with 3.66 per cent.

In the Southeast, Anambra topped the ranking with 2.92 per cent, followed by Enugu with 2.14 per cent, while Ebonyi and Abia recorded 1.15 per cent and 0.57 per cent, respectively.

For the South-South, Rivers ranked first with 3.03 per cent, followed by Edo with 2.17 per cent, Delta with 1.84 per cent, Akwa Ibom with 1.61 per cent and Cross River with 1.30 per cent.

The registrar said the male and female performance rankings also showed variations across the geopolitical zones and states.

Wushishi further disclosed that 1,334 candidates with special needs participated in the 2026 SSCE Internal.

He said the figure comprised 640 candidates with hearing impairment, 149 with visual impairment, 84 with albinism, 94 with autism, 136 with low vision and 231 candidates with adermatoglyphia.

He assured candidates, parents, schools and other stakeholders that NECO would continue to uphold the integrity and credibility of its examinations.

The registrar also expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, for their support to the council.

He commended security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Department of State Services (DSS), as well as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other institutions, for their support during the examination.

Wushishi urged candidates to access their results through the NECO website using their examination registration numbers and to continue their academic pursuits with renewed hope and determination.

Smartphones and fintech platforms have completely changed how retail investing works across Nigeria. With a simple tap on an app, anyone can purchase shares of multinational corporations or local firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) without ever setting foot inside a traditional stockbroking firm.

Yet, convenience comes with hidden traps. Many beginners mistake ease of access for a lack of risk, losing hard-earned savings within their first few weeks of trading.

In this article, Tribune online examines the six most expensive errors young retail investors commit on investment apps and provides practical guidance to protect your capital.

Falling for unregulated platforms and cloned apps

The initial danger starts with the software you download onto your device. Fraudulent operators often design clean, attractive user interfaces that look like genuine trading services, promising access to foreign and local bourses.

According to advisory releases from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, retail investors must confirm that any platform handling public capital is officially licensed or partnered with a registered capital market operator.

Putting funds into unregistered apps leaves you completely exposed to total loss, as regulatory bodies cannot step in to recover capital lost on unapproved platforms.

To protect yourself, verify every application directly against the SEC Nigeria official registry or the accredited broker portal on the NGX website before depositing a single naira.

Chasing social media hype and financial influencer tips

A rampant habit among Gen Z and millennial investors is purchasing equities based on trending discussions on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.

Someone posts a screenshot of a 300 percent portfolio gain, and thousands rush to buy that exact ticker symbol out of fear of missing out.

Novice retail buyers end up entering at market peaks right before sharp sell-offs, leaving them holding deflated assets for months.

You must build the habit of conducting your own due diligence. Never buy a stock just because a popular online personality endorsed it without reviewing company balance sheets and earnings statements.

Ignoring fees, fx spreads, and inactivity penalties

Many young investors see an advert stating ‘zero commission trading’ and assume the transaction carries no expense. In reality, modern mobile apps recoup revenue through wider foreign exchange spreads, withdrawal charges, deposit transfer fees, and value-added taxes.

When buying foreign equities, converting naira to dollars often incurs an exchange rate premium higher than official rates. When you later liquidate the position, you must pay another spread fee to convert back, alongside SEC transaction levies and broker execution costs.

Before initiating a trade, calculate the entire cost chain. If all processing fees total five percent of your principal, your chosen asset must gain more than five percent just for you to break even.

Treating the stock market like sports betting platform

A common misconception among beginner traders is viewing equity charts the same way they view a quick virtual bet. They download an application on Friday, allocate money to volatile penny shares, and expect to double their capital by the following Tuesday.

Equities represent fractional ownership in real, living enterprises with physical factories, payroll obligations, supply chains, and market headwinds. Companies do not generate sustainable expansion overnight, and authentic price appreciation requires time.

When you treat daily volatility as a gambling game, you inevitably make emotional decisions. Sound equity growth demands patience, periodic dividends, and an investment horizon measured in years rather than days.

Putting all capital into single high-risk ticker

Concentration risk breaks countless investment portfolios. A young investor gets excited about one tech firm or energy provider and puts their entire monthly savings into that single stock, assuming it cannot fail.

If regulatory problems, management shakeups, or industry shifts hit that specific enterprise, your entire balance collapses. Market analysts routinely emphasize asset allocation: balancing domestic large-cap dividend stocks with foreign indexes and fixed-income mutual funds softens market shocks.

Ensure you spread your capital across different sectors of the economy, such as banking, consumer goods, agriculture, and industrial manufacturing, rather than betting on one favorite horse.

Trading without clear exit strategy or stop-loss order

The final misstep is having a plan for entering a trade, but zero plan for how to exit it. Mobile apps offer functional features like stop-loss and limit-profit orders, yet beginners rarely configure them.

When a selected equity drops by twenty percent, an unprepared investor freezes, hoping it will recover. The drop often widens to fifty percent, trapping funds indefinitely. Conversely, when a stock appreciates, unguided greed keeps investors holding on until the entire gain evaporates.

Before executing any order, determine the price point at which you will take your profit and the maximum loss you are willing to tolerate. Setting automated stop orders takes the destructive emotion out of your investing journey.

The Federal Government, through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), on Thursday commissioned a 581kWp interconnected solar mini-grid project in Oke-Oyi Community, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State, under the Rural Electrification Fund – Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (REF-IMAS) of the Rural Electrification Agency.

The project, developed by Nayo Tropical Technologies Limited, with support from the German Cooperation and the European Union through GIZ, is designed to expand access to reliable electricity while supporting economic activities and improving livelihoods in Oke-Oyi community.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, said the commissioning reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding electricity access and ensuring that energy investments translate into improved livelihoods and economic opportunities.

The Minister said that the project has a total installed capacity of 581kWp, comprising 1,336 solar panels and 84 batteries, with approximately 10 kilometres of distribution cables and transformers supporting the electricity distribution network.

‘The project serves a community with an estimated population of 13,000 people, with electricity connections extended to residential and productive users.

‘The intervention is already contributing to increased economic activity in Oke-Oyi, with new businesses emerging following the availability of improved electricity supply. These include 12 welding businesses, two pure water companies, four grain mills, four aluminium artisan businesses, one ice-block production business and one cold-room/ice-fish depot.

‘Three electricity vendors are also currently operating, with three additional vendors, including a female entrepreneur, expected to be registered.

‘The construction phase of the project also provided employment opportunities for members of the community through the engagement of painters, welders, bricklayers, iron benders, tilers, plumbers, borehole diggers and excavation labourers.’

Also speaking, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, represented by the Speaker, Kwara Assembly, and the APC governorship candidate, Salihu Danladi Yakubu, welcomed the intervention and noted the importance of reliable electricity to economic activities and community development.

‘For Kwara State, every intervention that expands reliable electricity access to our communities is an important step towards creating a more conducive environment for enterprise, employment and improved livelihoods. We appreciate the Federal Government, REA and all development and private-sector partners for this investment in Oke-Oyi and look forward to its continued contribution to the development of the community.’

While celebrating the project, residents of Oke-Oyi community said that the mini-grid project would help to solve long years of irregular power supply in the area.

Speaking during the commissioning of the energy project at Oke-Oyi on Thursday, the community chairman, Alhaji Oseni Olarewaju Elemoso, said that the area had for many years longed for reliable electricity to improve lives and economic activities.

The residents, who said that the project has renewed their confidence in the commitment of the government and its partners to rural development, added that it has shown that Oke-Oyi is not forgotten.

‘With this new source of electricity, we are confident that more businesses will thrive, livelihoods will improve and our community will continue to develop because our community is blessed with hardworking men, women and youths engaged in various economic activities.

‘We are already witnessing the impact of this project, with new businesses including welders, pure water companies, grain millers, aluminium artisans, ice-block production and a cold room. We also appreciate the employment opportunities created for our people during the construction of the project.’

The Oke-Oyi community thanked the Federal Government, the Rural Electrification Agency, the German Cooperation, the European Union, GIZ, Nayo Tropical Technologies Limited and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company for bringing this project to their community.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State, Mallam Garba Olayinka Agbelere, called for protection and productive utilisation of the solar mini-grid project in Oke-Oyi community.

The council chairman, who said that provision of reliable electricity would boost economic activities in Oke-Oyi, added that it would create an enabling environment for businesses to expand and new enterprises to emerge.

‘The provision of reliable electricity remains an important driver of economic and social development. For communities such as Oke-Oyi, access to electricity provides an opportunity for businesses to grow, new enterprises to emerge and our people to improve their livelihoods,’ he said.

The council chairman also highlighted the employment opportunities generated during the construction of the project, noting that artisans, technicians and labourers from Oke-Oyi and other parts of Ilorin East benefited from the project.

He pledged the commitment of the local government to collaborate with the Oke-Oyi community, REA, the project developer and other stakeholders to ensure that the facility is adequately protected and sustained.

He urged residents to regard the mini-grid as their collective asset and protect it against vandalism, misuse and other activities capable of undermining its sustainability.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, said the Oke-Oyi project demonstrates the Agency’s commitment to deploying electricity infrastructure that delivers tangible economic value to communities.

‘The real measure of an electrification project is not only the infrastructure we commission, but the opportunities that reliable electricity creates for the people who use it. In Oke-Oyi, we are already seeing new businesses emerge, productive activities expand and livelihoods being supported. This is precisely the kind of impact we seek to achieve through the Rural Electrification Agency and our partnership with the private sector and development partners.’

He added that the sustainability of the investment would remain an important consideration beyond commissioning, noting that communities, developers and other stakeholders all have a role to play in protecting and maximising the value of the infrastructure.

The Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Dr Karin Jansen, also speaking at the ceremony, highlighted the importance of strong partnerships in advancing sustainable energy access in Nigeria. She commended the Federal Ministry of Power, REA, the Kwara State Government, IBEDC, Nayo Tropical Technology, the EU, GIZ and the Oke-Oyi community for their contributions to the project.

She noted that the interconnected mini-grid demonstrates how partnerships between the public sector, development partners and private-sector developers can deliver practical and sustainable energy solutions for underserved communities.

In her address, she said: ‘Today is more than connecting a community to electricity; it is about demonstrating what is possible when government, development partners, utilities, private-sector developers and communities work together towards a common objective. We hope that the experience gained through this project will provide useful lessons for future interconnected mini-grids and other distributed energy solutions across Nigeria.’

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has suffered a tsunami in Nasarawa State as its former youth leader, Hon. Jacob Alebura, led many members of the party into the opposition Labour Party (LP).

The development consequently boosted the chances of the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party, Hon. Jonathan Gbefwi Gaza.

Hon. Gaza is the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals and currently represents Karu/Keffi/Kokona federal constituency of Nasarawa State in the National Assembly.

Hon. Alebura, in a letter of intent to join the Labour Party made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, said he had officially joined LP and had registered himself as a full member of the party under the Doma Local Government Area structure.

According to him, ‘I’m writing to formally express my intent to join the Labour Party LP and to officially register myself as a full member of the Labour Party, under the Doma Local government area structure Nasarawa state, effective from today.

‘I’m committed to upholding the ideals, values and constitution of the Labour Party and I look forward to actively participating in the activities of the party at the ward level, towards building a stronger, more inclusive, and people-oriented political movement gfor the progress of our community and our nation’, the letter read.

It would be recalled that Hon. Alebura had on September 19, 2026, officially resigned from the PDP, citing marginalisation by the party leaders and stakeholders as well as the unending crisis between him and the chairman of the party in Doma Local Government Area.

The defectors were received into the Labour Party by the state party chairman and the leadership in Doma Local Government Area, as well as the stakeholders of the party.