Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal, has settled all outstanding debts owed to examination bodies by previous administrations in the State, a development that has led to the release of withheld results of students who sat for SSCE spanning five years.

The previous Zamfara State governments failed to pay exam fees to the National Examinations Council (NECO) from 2014 to 2018 and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) from 2018 to 2022.

However, a statement by the spokesperson for the Zamfara State Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, on Saturday, revealed that the incumbent Governor Lawal has settled the debts and consequently the examination bodies have released all results withheld by them from 2018 to 2022.

The statement added that the present government’s effort to settle the outstanding debts was part of a broader strategy in line with Governor Lawal’s declaration of a state of emergency on education.

The statement read in part: “In his commitment to overhauling the educational sector of Zamfara State, Governor Dauda Lawal has settled all backlog of payments owed by previous administrations in the state.

“The nonpayment of fees for WAEC and NECO has caused a significant setback for public schools throughout Zamfara State, continually placing Zamfara at the bottom of educational indices across Nigeria.

“Recognising the issues within the education system, Governor Lawal declared a state of emergency in education in November 2023, a decision producing positive results for the educational sector in Zamfara State.

“More than 500 schools have been renovated and equipped since the emergency declaration. Public teachers have been trained and are undergoing retraining.

“The swift payment of the outstanding debt to WAEC and NECO has relieved the stranded Zamfara students, who completed their final exams but could not proceed due to the examination bodies withholding their results.

“For the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Governor Dauda Lawal has paid the outstanding of one billion four hundred million naira that the previous administrations owed from 2018 to 2022.

“The immediate past government could not pay for the 2023 WAEC; therefore, no public school in Zamfara State participated in the examination. However, payment was made for 2024, and students took the exams.

“On the part of the National Examination Council (NECO), Governor Lawal has paid N320, 699, 850.00 to settle a debt owed the council from 2020 to 2021.

“The previous administrations from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 failed to pay the National Examination Council (NECO) the sum of one billion and twenty-two million naira, a reason why the council decided to withhold the results of Zamfara students who sat during that period.

“Governor Dauda Lawal has also approved the payment of the withheld results from 2014 to 2018, and an agreement has been reached with NECO to release the results immediately after receiving the first batch of the payment.”