Kano State has ranked first in the 2026 National Examination Council of Nigeria (NECO), with 74,413 candidates obtaining at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

The result showed that Lagos emerged second with 72,496 candidates, while Oyo came third with 55,543 candidates.

The performance marks the second consecutive year that Kano has topped the NECO national performance chart, after recording the highest number of candidates with five credits, including English and Mathematics, in the 2025 examination.

Reacting to the development, Governor Abba Yusuf, in a statement by his spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, on Saturday in Kano, commended the students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders for the outstanding performance.

Mr Yusuf said the back-to-back performance was an indication that the state’s sustained investment in education was producing measurable results.

“Kano has maintained the first position in NECO twice in a row making the state as the leading SSCE performer for the two consecutive years, (2025 and 2026) respectively,” he said.

He assured the people of Kano that his administration would continue to prioritise education through increased funding, improved learning facilities, teacher recruitment and training, scholarships and support for indigent students.

As part of the interventions, he said, the state government spent over N4.4 billion in 2026 to sponsor candidates for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, particularly indigent students.

The governor said the intervention was designed to remove financial barriers and enable students to participate in the examinations under better conditions.

He said the latest NECO result was a continuation of the improvement recorded by Kano students under the present administration.

“Education has consistently received the largest share of Kano State’s budget under Governor Yusuf; overshooting the UNESCO benchmark.

“In 2024, education accounted for about 29.95 per cent of the state budget. The allocation increased to N168.35 billion, representing 31 per cent, in the 2025 budget.

“For 2026, the state allocated N405.35 billion to education, representing about 30 per cent of the N1,478, 829, 666, 130. 71 trillion budget,” he said.

The governor said the investment goes beyond examination sponsorship to include classroom renovation, teacher recruitment, learning materials, uniforms, scholarships and other interventions aimed at improving the quality of education.

The administration’s education policies have also attracted recognition at national and international levels, with Kano fast becoming a leading education reform hub in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2024, Mr Yusuf received the Leadership Newspaper Governor of the Year Award for Education, while New Telegraph recognised him for educational development Governor of the year.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers also named the governor its Teachers’ Friendly Governor of the Year for 2024.

“In 2025, Blueprint Newspaper recognised Governor Yusuf as Governor of the Year for Education at the paper’s national conference in Abuja. While This Nigeria newspaper awarded him as courageous Governor of the year 2024.

“The administration also received education-related recognition at International space in London and Paris 2026, for its commitment to education with international literacy and learning award and the education spending award by the Universal Learning Solution and City University, Paris respectively,” he said.

He said the objective was to build an education system capable of providing Kano’s young people with the knowledge and skills required for higher education, employment, innovation and leadership, as Kano has recorded over five million school children in the last annual school census.

(NAN)