WAEC denies claim of relocating its Ghana headquarters to Nigeria

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) management has dismissed claims that it plans to relocate its headquarters to Nigeria from Ghana, Accra over an accumulated debt of GH¢73 million over the past eight years.

WAEC’s denial comes after a media report suggested that financial difficulties caused by the Ghanaian government’s indebtedness to WAEC had severely affected its operations, prompting discussions about a potential relocation.

The report sighted by Pretertiary.com indicated that Nigeria had made significant investments in developing a modern infrastructure to host the WAEC headquarters, should the not-for-profit-making organization choose to relocate.

“This comes after Ghana accumulated a debt of GH¢73 million over the past eight years, covering unpaid subscriptions, dues and other financial obligations to the organization,” the report by a local media outlet stated.

However, the Head of Public Relations at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) John Kapi, has refuted these reports, stating that no such decision has been made by the management of the not-for-profit-making organization.

“There hasn’t been any discussion in this direction. So the law that established the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) indicates that the headquarters of the WAEC will be situated here in Accra.

Ever since there has not been any change to that. So, I guess that we cannot confirm that we have not had any such discussions and there are no plans as such,” the Examinations Council’s spokesperson told Accra-based Citi FM.

In other news, the West African Examinations Council has said that the release of the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results may face delays due to the government’s outstanding debt to the Council.

The Examinations Council had initially projected to release the results between December 9 and 15. However, it says the ongoing funding shortfall could impact this timeline, particularly affecting the marking and processing stages.

“Before the exam started, we indicated that the government had given us money to be able to conduct the examination, and the assurances were that once the exam was over, more releases would be made so that we would be able to go ahead with our post-examination activities.

But as we speak, despite meetings that have been held, we still have not had any money hitting our account yet, and so our fear is that this would jeopardize the marking exercise,” WAEC spokesman, John Kapi told the media.