Workers under the umbrella of the Non-Academic Personnel Union of Educational and Associated Institutions on Wednesday started a three-day nationwide protest against the management of the West African Examinations Council over unsolved welfare concerns and alleged unfair labour practices.
The demonstration started at WAEC’s nationwide head office in Yaba, Lagos, around 8:00 a.m., with similar demonstrations taking place simultaneously across the council’s regional and state workplaces nationwide.
The commercial action followed the expiration of a seven-day warning previously released by NASU management to WAEC management over nine unresolved needs, including concerns surrounding personnel well-being and declared irregularities in recruitment treatments.
The protest comes as WAEC Nigeria and 4 other member countries, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia continue the ongoing 2026 May/June West African Senior Citizen School Certificate Evaluation involving 1,959,636 prospects from 24,207 schools across Nigeria.
Earlier in the week, WAEC’s Head of National Office, Amos Dangut, had actually guaranteed stakeholders that adequate steps had been presented to guarantee the smooth conduct of the examination and avoid a repeat of the functional issues experienced during the 2025 edition.
Regardless of this guarantee, opposing workers kept that the action became necessary due to management’s failure to deal with longstanding grievances.
The employees’ needs were detailed in a letter dated May 5, 2026, resolved to Dangut by the NASU nationwide body.
The letter, signed by NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, was entitled, “Re: A Call For Immediate Stop to the Shady Recruitment Interview Practices.”
According to the union, management stopped working to resolve the concerns raised within the stipulated seven-day period, prompting the beginning of the demonstration.
Part of the letter specified that branch executive officers had actually revealed discontentment that problems earlier interacted to management remained unsettled and had resulted in additional issues needing immediate attention.
Speaking throughout the protest, Chairman of NASU-WAEC, Kayode Ogunyade, said the action, arranged to run daily from 7:30 a.m. to twelve noon for 3 days, was focused on engaging management to resume negotiations with the union.
According to him, the demonstration also functions as a warning over what employees referred to as increasing disappointment among employees.
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Ogunyade cautioned that failure to deal with the issues could signify management’s unwillingness to fix the disputes, adding that any more action after the protest would be identified by NASU’s nationwide management.
Responding to the development, WAEC, through its Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, assured candidates, moms and dads, school owners, and other stakeholders that the ongoing WASSCE would continue without disturbance.
The council specified that assessment activities had actually stayed undisturbed in spite of the demonstration by some employees.
WAEC also stressed that it appreciates the rights of staff members and labour unions to express complaints in harmony within the provisions of the law, including that management had already initiated procedures to resolve the issues raised.
The council further described that recent adjustments to examination days resulted from the reduction of subjects from 76 to 38 and the adoption of a revised hybrid assessment structure.
It also dismissed allegations relating to indiscriminate dismissal of workers and unjust disciplinary actions, firmly insisting that all disciplinary steps were carried out in accordance with the organisation’s personnel policies and statutory arrangements.
WAEC added that the engagement of contract Examination Officers and Assistant Evaluation Officers was part of broader efforts to manage increasing workloads and improve operational effectiveness across member nations.
The assessment body kept in mind that conversations with the union were ongoing and assured the public that plans had been put in location to guarantee that the assessment schedule remained unaffected.
WAEC also prompted Nigerians to neglect rumours efficient in creating panic over the conduct of the ongoing evaluation, declaring its commitment to keeping credible and trustworthy examination procedures across the country.