WAEC appoints Nigeria’s Amos Dangut as Registrar and CEO for five-year term
By Aboki Forex —
The West African Examinations Council has appointed Dr Amos Dangut as its new Registrar and Chief Executive Officer. Dangut, until now the Head of WAEC’s Nigerian National Office, took office on October 1, 2026. His five-year term ends in September 2031.
The appointment was disclosed by Mr Damianus Ojijeogu, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC Headquarters in Accra, Ghana, in a statement issued on Friday and made available to the WAEC National Office in Yaba, Lagos. Dangut succeeds Alhaji Pateh Bah of The Gambia as Registrar of the regional examination body.
Board ratifies appointment
The International Governing Board of WAEC ratified Dangut’s appointment at its 74th Annual Meeting held in Accra in March 2026. Born on October 2, 1967, he joined WAEC in 1998 after beginning his professional career in education in 1994 as an examiner at St. Louis College, Jos.
He subsequently held several positions within WAEC, including Assistant Registrar, Senior Assistant Registrar, Deputy Registrar and Deputy Registrar/Controller across the Council’s headquarters and branch offices. Dangut became Head of the Nigerian National Office on October 2, 2023, a position he held until his appointment as Registrar on October 1, 2026.
Digital examination reforms
As Head of the Nigerian National Office, Dangut oversaw initiatives aimed at improving examination delivery, security, integrity and efficiency. These included the rollout of Computer-Based WASSCE, serialisation of question papers and the introduction of a Digital Electronic Marking System.
He also oversaw the Digital Certificate Portal, WAEC E-Study Platform, Digital Records Archive, as well as systems for examination logistics, timetable management and monitoring examiners’ attendance.
Dangut holds a Bachelor of Agriculture in Animal Production, a Master of Science in Animal Science, a Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science and a Master of Education in Administration and Planning. He has served on the governing boards of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
He represented WAEC in education policy forums, including the Joint Consultative Committee on Education and the National Council on Education. The statement said Dangut has published in international and national journals and participated in several national and international conferences and forums. He currently serves as the Regional Representative of the West African sub-region on the Executive Board of the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA). Dangut is a Fellow of the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).
Education reforms gather pace
Dangut assumes the WAEC leadership role as Nigeria’s education sector enters a period of broader reforms, particularly in basic education. The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) is set to begin full implementation of its 10-Year Universal Basic Education Roadmap, covering 2026 to 2035, from the first week of October.
The roadmap is accompanied by a new digital platform, the Basic Education Action Plan Management System (BEAPMS), designed to improve the planning, monitoring and transparency of basic education projects across the country. The Federal Ministry of Education has also released a new list of ranked and approved textbooks for use in Nigerian schools from 2026 to 2028, with unique QR tracking codes introduced to improve monitoring and accountability around instructional materials.
These developments come as education costs remain a concern for households. Education services inflation rose to 10.72% year-on-year in August 2026, up from 7.51% in July.
What it means
For Nigerian businesses, the appointment signals continuity in WAEC’s digital examination reforms, which affect how candidates, schools and vendors interact with the council. For households, the wider education reforms and rising education services inflation mean costs will remain a key pressure point.