OPSAN said the continued admission process could disadvantage thousands of prospective undergraduates whose West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO) or National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) results are still pending.
The association made the demand in a statement signed by its National President, Prof. Uzochukwu Nwanonyuo, on Tuesday, following a stakeholders’ meeting.
According to the association, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) should not proceed with admissions based substantially on WAEC results when candidates who sat for other recognised national examinations are still awaiting their results.
“It is unfair and unjust that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, has commenced admissions based only on WAEC results while many other results are still pending.
“A good percentage of the 2025/2026 WAEC results are yet to be released in some public, mission and private secondary schools.
“Worse still, the National Examination Council, and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, are yet to release their results, yet universities have already started and in some cases concluded their Post-UTME and admission processes.
“Therefore, as a body, we call on the Federal Government to immediately halt the ongoing admission process for the 2026/2027 academic session pending the release of all O’Level results.”
Concern over candidates awaiting NECO, NABTEB
Nwanonyuo said the situation could particularly affect candidates who depend on NECO and NABTEB certificates to meet admission requirements.
He explained that many students across the country sit for NECO and WAEC examinations, while graduates of Technical Colleges, Federal Science and Technical Colleges, as well as vocational and commercial schools, may rely on NECO and NABTEB results when seeking admission into higher institutions.
According to him, continuing the admission process before those results become available could effectively exclude candidates who have yet to receive the documents needed to complete their admission requirements.
“This is not proper and not justified. Some Federal Universities have already concluded admissions for professional courses while students waiting for NECO and NABTEB have not even had a chance.
“We, therefore, appealed to the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, to urgently intervene and direct JAMB to put all admission processes on hold.
“We also called on the National Universities Commission, to instruct universities across the country to suspend Post-UTME admissions until all O’Level results are released,” the statement added.
Association asks examination bodies to act
OPSAN also called on WAEC to publish a comprehensive list of candidates who participated in the 2025/2026 internal examinations.
The association urged NECO and NABTEB to accelerate the processing and release of their results, arguing that delays could have consequences for candidates seeking admission into universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions.
It said the admission process should be structured in a manner that gives candidates who sat for different recognised examinations an equal opportunity to compete for available spaces.
The association described the situation as a national concern, arguing that Nigeria’s own examination bodies should not be disadvantaged in the admission process.
OPSAN also questioned what it described as the preference being given to WAEC results while candidates awaiting NECO and NABTEB results remain unable to complete the admission process.
According to the association, such a situation could undermine confidence in Nigeria’s national examination institutions.
“JAMB granting admission without waiting for NECO and NABTEB is a slap on our national examination bodies. Nigeria at this stage of development should be strengthening NECO and NABTEB, not indirectly making WAEC the only yardstick for UTME admissions.
“All O’Level results must be released before admissions commence to give every Nigerian child a level playing ground,” the statement concluded.
Potential impact on the admission cycle
The controversy comes as universities across the country proceed with their admission-related activities for the 2026/2027 academic session.
OPSAN’s position is that institutions should wait until candidates from all recognised examination streams have access to their results before finalising admissions.
The association’s demand places the Federal Government, JAMB, the National Universities Commission and the examination bodies at the centre of the issue, with OPSAN seeking a coordinated approach to prevent candidates from being disadvantaged by examination-result delays.
For students and parents, the timing of the release of O’Level results remains critical because the results form part of the academic requirements used by tertiary institutions during the admission process.
OPSAN is therefore calling for a temporary halt to the process until candidates who sat for WAEC, NECO and NABTEB examinations are placed on a broadly comparable footing.
The association maintained that ensuring access to all relevant examination results before admissions are concluded would help prevent candidates from being excluded simply because their examination body had not yet released their results.