Workers of the Nigeria National Office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) are set to begin a three-day protest over allegations of management highhandedness, illegal recruitment, and the imposition of pay policies.
The industrial action, scheduled to start Wednesday at WAEC’s headquarters in Lagos, is expected to extend to regional and state offices nationwide.
The protest is being led by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), which accused WAEC management of unilateral decision-making, violation of seniority rules, and punitive administrative actions against staff.
In a letter dated May 5 and signed by NASU General Secretary Peters Adeyemi, the union outlined several grievances and issued a seven-day ultimatum for their resolution ahead of the planned action.
Among the concerns raised are the suspension of staff upgrade programmes, alleged imposition of a minimum net pay policy, the constitution of investigative panels without union consultation, recruitment irregularities, and changes to the WASSCE examination structure.
NASU said members resolved to proceed with the protest after the ultimatum expired, following an online meeting involving its branches across the country.
The union warned that the action could be escalated if management fails to address its demands.
In response, WAEC management, in a letter dated May 8, denied several of the allegations, insisting it operates within its established conditions of service and has remained open to staff concerns.
The examination body also said some policy decisions, including adjustments to the WASSCE duration, were implemented in line with directives from the Federal Ministry of Education, adding that a proposed minimum net pay policy had been suspended.
WAEC further expressed confidence that it would still conduct a smooth 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for over 1.9 million candidates across more than 24,000 schools despite the looming protest.
The dispute is the latest in a series of industrial actions involving WAEC staff, with similar protests recorded in 2024 that disrupted operations in Lagos offices.
As of the time of filing this report, WAEC had not issued any fresh statement on the planned protest.