Nigeria, Sept. 28 -- Candidates' performance in the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) administered by the National Examinations Council (NECO) declined slightly from last year, a PREMIUM TIMES analysis has shown.

The analysis of state-by-state performance also revealed that only 19 of Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) performed above the national average of 60.13 per cent.

The data, obtained from NECO's state-by-state breakdown of the 2026 SSCE, showed that the pass rate in the remaining 18 states fell below the average rate.

The ranking is based on the proportion of candidates in each state who obtained at least five credits, including English and Mathematics, rather than the absolute number o...