NECO Awards Bayelsa State for Academic Dominance in National Exams

Bayelsa State has been honoured with an Award of Excellence by the National Examinations Council (National Examinations Council (NECO)) in recognition of its outstanding performance in national examinations.

The award was presented during the council’s 25th anniversary celebrations and formally handed over to Governor Douye Diri at the weekly State Executive Council meeting held at the Government House in Yenagoa on Wednesday. The presentation was made by the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Gentle Emelah.

According to Dr. Emelah, Bayelsa State earned the recognition based on merit, emerging as the state with the highest percentage of candidates who obtained five credits and above in the NECO Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE Internal) since the inception of the examination body.

He explained that this achievement placed Bayelsa ahead of all other states in the country, with Ogun State coming second and Edo State placing third.

The Commissioner noted that the award reflects NECO’s broader commitment to encouraging academic excellence across Nigeria. By recognising top-performing states and institutions, the examination body promotes healthy competition, accountability, and continuous improvement within the education sector.

He further described the recognition not only as a celebration of past achievements but also as a challenge for states to sustain and improve their educational standards in line with national development goals.

Receiving the award, Governor Douye Diri expressed gratitude to NECO for the honour, describing it as both encouraging and demanding.

He stressed that the recognition should serve as motivation for greater effort within the education sector, urging the Ministry of Education to ensure that the state maintains its high standards.

According to him, sustaining the achievement is crucial:

 “This is a wake up call to receive this type of award, particularly when you are competing with states that had been there over the years and that are believed to be educationally ahead of you. It is a wake up call for you (Education Commissioner) and the ministry that now that Bayelsa has come to the limelight educationally and competitively, we must wake up to the point of no return. I do not want to receive an award like this today and next year we go down. Let it be that we are improving on this.” The governor emphasized that the award should not be seen as a final achievement but rather as a benchmark for continuous progress. He called for sustained commitment from education stakeholders in the state to ensure that Bayelsa not only maintains its current position but continues to improve in future examinations.