Bayelsa Bags NECO Excellence Award For Outstanding Academic Performance

May 13, 2026
The Bayelsa State Government has received an Award of Excellence from the National Examinations Council (NECO) in recognition of the state’s exceptional performance in national examinations.

The award was presented to Governor Douye Diri during the weekly State Executive Council meeting at Government House, Yenagoa.
Presenting the award, the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Gentle Emelah, said NECO honoured Bayelsa as part of activities marking the examination body’s 25th anniversary celebration.

According to him, the state earned the recognition for recording the highest percentage of candidates who obtained five credits and above in the NECO Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal examinations since the inception of the council.
Dr. Emelah explained that the award was based strictly on merit and underscored NECO’s commitment to encouraging healthy competition, accountability, and continuous improvement in the education sector.

He noted that the recognition was not only a celebration of past achievements but also a challenge to states and educational institutions across the country to improve standards in line with NECO’s broader objective of promoting quality education and national development.
Providing further details on the rankings, the commissioner stated that Bayelsa emerged first nationwide, ahead of Ogun State in second position and Edo State in third place.

Responding, Governor Diri expressed appreciation to NECO for the honour, describing the award as a wake-up call for greater commitment to educational excellence in the state.

He charged the Ministry of Education to sustain and improve on the feat, stressing that any decline in performance would be unacceptable.
“This is a wake-up call to receive this type of award, particularly when you are competing with states that have been there over the years and are believed to be educationally ahead of you,” the governor said.

“Now that Bayelsa has come to the limelight educationally and competitively, we must sustain the momentum. I do not want to receive an award like this today and next year we go down. Let it be that we continue improving on this achievement.”