WAEC at 70: Nigeria committed to providing quality education, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria will continue to work with other Anglophone West African countries to ensure citizens access quality education.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, Buhari said this in a message to congratulate the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on its 70th anniversary.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) was established in 1952 after the enactment of the West African Examinations Council Ordinances in 1951 by the governments of Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.

In 1974, Liberia joined the council as the fifth member country.

Speaking on the council’s efforts, Buhari urged the examination body to continue to ensure adherence to its standard values which are rooted in excellence, integrity, professionalism, accountability and transparency.

“As a proud founding member of the foremost examining board for the people of West Africa, President Buhari affirms that Nigeria values the shared commitment with other Members of the Council and would continue to engage with other partners to achieve the Council’s mandate of maintaining quality educational standards that prepare the next generation to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” the statement reads.

“The President notes with delight that for the last 70 years, the West African examination body has brought the English-speaking West Africans together to encourage academic and moral excellence through a qualitative and reliable educational assessment.

“As delegates to the 70th council meeting deliberate, reflect and celebrate the gains of the decades,  the Nigerian leader urges them to remember the core values of excellence, integrity, professionalism, accountability and transparency, at the heart of WAEC, and stand firmly by them.

“The President believes that just as member-nations have survived a difficult year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and in some countries, previous years of internal conflict, this cherished education institution would continue to thrive as a world-class examination body.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria will host WAEC’s 70th annual council meeting, which is scheduled to take place from March 14 to March 18, 2022, in Abuja.