Kano Emerges Top in 2025 NECO SSCE as Bureau Counters Premium Times Report
Kano, Nigeria – September 27, 2025
The Kano State Bureau of Statistics has reaffirmed Kano’s position as the leading state in the 2025 National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), dismissing a recent Premium Times publication that suggested otherwise.
In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the Statistician-General, Dr. Aliyu Isa Aliyu, the Bureau described the report as “misleading,” stressing that official NECO figures clearly place Kano ahead of all other states in overall performance.
According to the Bureau, Premium Times based its analysis on a single performance indicator where Abia State came first, while ignoring a broader set of six indicators that, when considered, showed Kano leading in five categories.
Performance Breakdown
Official NECO statistics indicate that:
- Highest Enrollment and Success Rate: Kano recorded the largest participation, with 137,338 registered candidates, 136,762 of whom sat for the examination. Out of these, 103,579 obtained five credits and above irrespective of English and Mathematics, the highest in the country. Lagos followed with 85,071, and Oyo came third with 70,609.
- Female Excellence: Kano also ranked first in female education. Out of 74,098 girls who sat, 39,851 obtained five credits including English and Mathematics, surpassing Lagos (38,804) and Oyo (26,371). When English and Mathematics were excluded, 59,771 Kano girls achieved success—again the highest nationally.
- Male Performance: Among male candidates, 61,854 sat for the exam, with 43,808 securing five credits irrespective of English and Mathematics, ahead of Lagos (38,869) and Oyo (22,371). For the stricter benchmark including English and Mathematics, Lagos led with 30,203 while Kano followed closely with 28,308.
The Bureau also highlighted that NECO’s ranking formula included results from candidates outside Nigeria, such as those in Saudi Arabia and Niger Republic, where small enrollment numbers produced a 100 percent pass rate. It argued that relying on such data without context could distort the overall picture.
Governor’s Statement Justified
The Bureau insisted that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf was accurate when he declared that Kano produced the highest number of successful candidates in the 2025 SSCE, noting that the claim was supported by NECO’s official statistics endorsed by the Registrar, Prof. Dantani Wushishi.
“With Kano leading in five out of six key performance indicators, the state has reaffirmed its position as Nigeria’s education hub in 2025, especially in advancing girl-child education,” the Bureau stated.