The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has a new leader. Amos Dangut, who has headed the council's Nigerian National Office since 2023, has been appointed Registrar and Chief Executive Officer.
The announcement came on Friday in a statement from Damianus Ojijeogu, head of public affairs at WAEC's headquarters in Accra, Ghana. Dangut's term runs for five years, from October 2026 to September 2031. He takes over from Pateh Bah of The Gambia.
The council's International Governing Board approved the appointment at its 74th annual meeting in Accra in March 2026. Dangut formally became Registrar on October 1, 2026.
A career built inside the council
Dangut was born on October 2, 1967. His academic background covers animal production and animal science, along with a master's degree in education administration and planning.
His working life in education began in 1994 at St. Louis College, Jos, where he was an examiner. He joined WAEC in 1998 and moved steadily up the ranks. He served as assistant registrar, senior assistant registrar, deputy registrar and deputy registrar/controller, working at both the headquarters and branch offices.
He became head of the Nigerian National Office on October 2, 2023, and stayed in that role until his new appointment.
Changes he led in Nigeria
According to the statement, Dangut pushed for innovations meant to make examinations more secure, efficient and credible. These include:
- The rollout of computer based WASSCE
- Serialisation of question papers
- A digital electronic marking system
He also oversaw several digital platforms and systems, among them the digital certificate portal, the WAEC e-study platform and a digital records archive. Other systems under his watch handled examination logistics, timetable management and the monitoring of examiners' attendance.
Roles beyond WAEC
Outside the council's own operations, Dangut has sat on the governing boards of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). He has also represented WAEC at education policy forums such as the Joint Consultative Committee on Education and the National Council on Education.
On the regional stage, he is the West African representative on the Executive Board of the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa. He has published in national and international journals and taken part in many conferences. He is also a fellow of the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).
Why students and parents should care
WAEC runs the exams that millions of students across West Africa sit for, so decisions made at the top shape how those exams are delivered, marked and certified. Dangut's record in Nigeria centred on computer based testing, tighter paper security and digital records, which suggests where his focus may lie as he takes on the wider role.
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