The House of Representatives has directed the Federal Ministry of Education and the West African Examinations Council to halt the planned rollout of Computer-Based Testing for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination. The resolution was reached after lawmakers adopted a motion of urgent public importance moved by Kelechi Wogu during Thursday’s plenary.

Wogu’s motion, titled “Need for Intervention to Avert Massive Failure in the Proposed 2026 WAEC Computer-Based Examination,” cautioned that introducing CBT too quickly could expose students to widespread failure, frustration, and mental pressure. He said the Ministry of Education appeared determined to push ahead with the digital testing format despite resistance from the National Union of Teachers and school administrators, particularly in rural communities where over 70 per cent of candidates sit for the exam.

The lawmaker stated that many schools, especially those outside major cities, do not have functional computer laboratories, stable internet connectivity, adequate electricity supply, or qualified ICT teachers. He warned that rolling out CBT without addressing these deficiencies could be catastrophic, pointing to the technical disruptions that affected the 2025 WAEC results portal as an example of the system’s fragility. He added that “The computer-based system requires well-equipped halls with functional computers, stable internet, and constant power supply. Many schools are simply not ready for that level of transition.”

To close these gaps, the House ordered the Ministry of Education to work with state governments to include provisions in their 2026–2029 budgets for hiring computer teachers, constructing ICT halls, installing internet infrastructure, and supplying backup power sources for examination centres. The House resolved that the proposed CBT model should not be implemented before the 2030 academic year.

The motion was unanimously adopted, and the House mandated its Committees on Basic Education, Digital and Information Technology, Examination Bodies, and Labour to consult stakeholders and submit a report within four weeks for further legislative engagement.

The CBT model was introduced in Nigeria to reduce examination malpractice and modernise the education sector. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board pioneered its use in 2013 and conducted its first fully computer-based UTME in 2015. Since then, bodies such as the National Examinations Council and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board have adopted CBT in limited or pilot phases.

Despite these attempts, the education sector continues to grapple with poor digital infrastructure, unstable electricity supply, weak internet access, and insufficient functional computers in many public and rural schools. In 2024, WAEC announced plans to shift the WASSCE to CBT beginning in 2026, a move that generated a nationwide debate. Teachers, parents, and unions argued that schools in many communities lack the facilities and manpower required for such a significant transition, while supporters insist that digital examinations will enhance transparency, boost efficiency, and improve Nigeria’s global competitiveness in education.

In September, WAEC outlined key requirements schools must meet ahead of the full transition, including 250 functional laptops with 10 per cent backups, a strong server capable of supporting 250 systems simultaneously, and a Local Area Network setup. Other mandatory provisions listed by WAEC included functioning air conditioners and lighting, uninterrupted electricity supply, a backup generator of at least 40kVA capacity, CCTV cameras, and a holding room or reception area for candidates.

Public Work or Defiance?

In a country where power often speaks louder than law, the recent confrontation between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and a Naval officer did more than spark an argument. It stirred something deeper about how Nigerians now see authority.

The video showed what many described as an altercation: Wike visibly angry, the naval officer standing firm, refusing to yield. In a different setting, it might have been a routine exchange of hierarchy. But Nigeria is no longer a place where power goes unquestioned, and that made the moment explode into fascination and quiet applause.

Between Law and Ego

Inside military circles, there is a colloquial expression called “Two Fighting”. It is not a written law, but a saying, used when a senior officer assaults a junior one without legal justification or outside military boundaries. It captures a simple truth whispered in the barracks: rank may command obedience, but it should never erase dignity.

Yet, this was not two fighting. This was a civilian political authority confronting a uniformed officer, a delicate space between governance and discipline, between civil power and uniformed restraint.

By law, Ministers direct policies, not soldiers. The Armed Forces Act makes clear that obedience belongs within a defined chain of command. So while Wike may have carried political weight, the officer’s calm refusal stood on the firmer ground of legality, and perhaps morality too.

Still, power has its own dialect, and sometimes ego translates it louder than law.

The Street’s Verdict

If the law spoke in nuance, the people spoke in certainty. Nigerians did not see a minister enforcing order. They saw a man in power trying to impose himself, and a naval officer who refused to bow.

Across motor parks, offices, and social media timelines, one thing was constant: Admiration. Not necessarily for defiance, but for composure. The officer’s restraint felt like a collective release, the kind that says, “At least someone stood up today.”

It was not rebellion they saw. It was representation. For once, someone in uniform seemed to mirror the quiet dignity Nigerians wish their leaders would show.

The Weight of Punishment

Yet, within the military, hierarchy remains sacred. Technically, the officer could face disciplinary action, not for fighting, but for the embarrassment the episode brought.

But here is where the lines blur again: when a man in uniform is punished for restraint, the public does not see discipline. They see injustice. And in a country already brimming with silent anger, such a message can ripple far beyond the barracks.

Because military men are Nigerians too. Their uniforms may set them apart, but their frustrations are rooted in the same soil. When one of them is made a scapegoat for showing composure, the people watching from the sidelines feel it personally. Their silence starts to sound like protest waiting for a trigger.

Sometimes it takes very little for collective irritation to turn into open defiance, not from hate, but from exhaustion.

The Balance We Need

Moments like this test more than authority; they test perception. They force a country to ask if power can coexist with fairness.

What the situation needs is not punishment or spectacle, but Arbitration, the kind that listens before it judges. Because the more openly government can resolve such tensions, the more quietly the people begin to believe again.

Arbitration here is not just about a verdict; it is about trust. It is the government telling its citizens, “We can be firm without being cruel.” That message alone can hold back the tide of cynicism rising in the hearts of those who have stopped expecting justice to ever look familiar.

Beneath the Outburst

This incident was never about a fence, a title, or a patch of land. It was about something far more human, the way Nigerians now relate to those who hold authority over them.

They are not anti-leadership. They are simply weary of the kind that confuses service with status.

That is why Wike’s anger did not register as zeal for order, but as the old sound of entitlement. And why the naval officer’s restraint felt like a glimpse of the Nigeria people still hope for, a place where discipline and dignity do not cancel each other out.

The Echo

Maybe this was not about who was right or wrong. Maybe it was about what happens when power finally meets a kind of calm it cannot command.

Because in that brief standoff, Nigerians did not just see an officer.

They saw themselves, standing tall, unarmed, but finally unwilling to move.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced that the previously proposed 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) will no longer be implemented.

George Ene-Ita, Director of the Public Affairs Department at NMDPRA, issued the update on Wednesday, urging the public to avoid panic buying of petroleum products.

The import tariff had been approved by President Bola Tinubu on October 29, following a submission from the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji. The proposal sought to apply a 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imported petrol and diesel, aiming to align import costs with domestic market realities. Implementation was originally scheduled to begin on November 21, 2025.

In its statement, NMDPRA clarified that the government is no longer pursuing the implementation of the fuel import duty. “It should also be noted that the implementation of the 15% ad-valorem import duty on imported Premium Motor Spirit and Diesel is no longer in View,” the agency stated.

The authority also assured Nigerians that the country has an adequate supply of petroleum products, meeting the national sufficiency threshold, even during this period of peak demand.

This suspension comes amid concerns from stakeholders about potential price increases and market disruptions that could have resulted from the import duty. The NMDPRA emphasized that the move is aimed at maintaining stability in fuel supply and preventing undue hardship for consumers.

President Tinubu’s initial approval had reflected a broader policy to regulate fuel imports and align them with domestic economic realities, but the suspension indicates a recalibration in response to public and market considerations.

NMDPRA continues to monitor the fuel market to ensure sufficient supply and smooth distribution across the country, urging citizens to adhere to official guidance and avoid hoarding.