The West African Examination Council (WAEC), Nigeria branch, has recently come under scrutiny for removing a video YouTube from their official platform.
The video in question highlighted the educational achievements of Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra state and the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
The video was originally posted on October 4, 2016, at 1:21 AM via their official X handle, @waecnigeria. It celebrated how Anambra became the top-ranking state in WAEC and NECO under Obi’s governance.
However, its recent deletion has sparked a wave of reactions from Nigerians questioning the integrity of WAEC.
Twitter user @Folyjay queried, “Whatever happened to the video?” while @ndubisi_omeke expressed disappointment, stating, “Just imagine, Peter Obi did excellently in the past. You posted the video and when it came to politics, you deleted the video, for what?”
The sentiment was echoed by @perrybtc_, who predicted that “Next they will rush to delete this tweet and all social media posts relating to this.” @Maureenlinad lamented the current political situation, attributing it to the alleged selling of the presidency to the highest bidder.
@9ja_4_all emphasized the responsibility of citizens to reclaim their country, expressing concern over the implications of WAEC’s actions. Meanwhile, @wusa_i suggested that the video could still be retrieved using the WaybackMachine and the old URL, even without WAEC’s consent.
WAEC’s Mandate and Partisan Concerns
The deletion of the video has raised questions about WAEC’s mandate and whether it is allowed to be partisan in its actions. According to the WAEC criteria, the council is expected to be impartial and objective in its operations, focusing on the educational development of students across West Africa. However, the decision to remove the video highlighting Obi’s achievements as governor has led some to question whether WAEC has overstepped its boundaries and engaged in partisan activities that undermine its credibility as an educational institution.
Therefore, it remains unclear whether WAEC’s actions against the Anambra students were permissible under their guidelines. Further investigation is needed to clarify this issue.
