The Kano State Bureau of Statistics has rejected a report by Premium Times suggesting that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf erred in claiming that Kano produced the highest number of students with five credits and above in the 2025 NECO Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).
In a statement signed by Aliyu Isa Aliyu, Ph.D., Statistician-General of the Bureau, the agency described the Premium Times report as “misleading and not reflective of the official statistics released by NECO.”
“The Bureau carefully reviewed the NECO data and found that Premium Times relied on a selective interpretation, highlighting only one indicator where Abia State ranked first, while ignoring the broader set of indicators that establish Kano as the national leader,” the statement said.
According to the Bureau, Kano ranked first in five out of six major indicators analyzed. “In overall performance, Kano had the highest candidate participation with 137,338 registered, 136,762 sitting for the exams, and 103,579 attaining five credits and above irrespective of Mathematics and English. This is the largest absolute figure nationwide,” it added, noting that Lagos and Oyo trailed with 85,071 and 70,609 successful candidates, respectively.
The statement also highlighted Kano’s achievement in female education, noting that 39,851 girls obtained five credits including Mathematics and English, the highest in the country.
“When considered irrespective of Mathematics and English, Kano again led the list with 59,771 successful girls, compared to Lagos with 48,202 and Oyo with 33,201,” it said, describing Kano as “the single biggest contributor to girl-child education in Nigeria.”
On male performance, the Bureau reported that Kano recorded 62,223 registered candidates and 61,854 who sat, with 43,808 achieving five credits irrespective of Mathematics and English.
“Even under the stricter benchmark requiring five credits including Mathematics and English, where Lagos narrowly ranked first with 30,203, Kano followed closely with 28,308. This performance is particularly significant considering Kano’s much larger enrollment base,” the statement added.
The Bureau concluded by reaffirming the accuracy of the governor’s claim. “Kano State emerged as the undisputed leader in the 2025 NECO SSCE across almost all key indicators. The attempt by Premium Times to downplay this achievement by focusing on a single indicator is a distortion of facts,” it said.
