The National Examinations Council (NECO) has confirmed Kano as the top-performing state in Nigeria for the 2025 Council Examinations. According to official data, 39,351 candidates from Kano — representing 5.886 per cent — obtained five credits and above, including Mathematics and English.
The clarification comes after a media report claimed Abia was the leading state, citing its code number “001” as evidence. NECO dismissed the report as misleading, explaining that the use of state codes has no bearing on performance rankings.
“The report in question was only an analysis of candidates’ performance by state, not the official final ranking. On the official list, Kano, with state code 015, emerges first, while Abia, despite its 001 code, ranks 35th nationwide,” an official of the Council stated.
Male and Female Performance Rankings
Performance sheets show that Lagos topped the male category, with 43,202 out of 43,538 registered candidates sitting the examinations. Of these, 30,203 candidates (4.44 per cent) secured five credits and above, including Mathematics and English.
Kano, meanwhile, registered 62,223 male candidates, with 61,854 sitting for the examinations. Out of this number, 28,308 achieved the benchmark, representing 4.10 per cent.
For female candidates, Kano led nationwide with 137,338 registered and 136,762 sitting the examinations. Of these, 5.020 per cent attained five credits and above, placing the state first, followed by Lagos with 4.93 per cent.
Call for Accuracy in Reporting
The NECO official cautioned journalists against misinforming the public on issues as sensitive as education. “Matters of this nature must not be taken lightly,” the official warned.
Hajiya Rabi Inuwa, Director of the Kano Educational Resource Centre (KERD), highlighted that Governor Yusuf had already paid over ₦3 billion in examination fees ahead of the 2025 sitting. However, NECO also appealed to the Governor to settle outstanding debts of ₦475 million in unpaid fees dating back to 2022.
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