By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Results for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have been released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

In a statement on Monday, the examination body for West Africa said candidates who participated in the exercise were free to check their results on its platform online.

In the notice on its official X handle, WAEC also advised candidates to visit its result portal to check their performance.

“The West African Examinations Council is pleased to inform candidates who sat WASSCE for school candidates, 2025, that the result has officially been released today, Monday, August 4, 2025,” the statement said.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Thursday approved N68.7 billion for key electricity projects in universities and teaching hospitals across Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, after the council’s meeting yesterday chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.

He said that the projects reflect the government’s resolve to ensure steady electricity supply in vital sectors like health and education.

The university project involves engineering, procurement, and construction under the Energising Education Programme, led by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).

“This initiative aims to ease the energy cost burden on universities and hospitals by providing reliable, good-quality electricity,” Mr Adelabu stated, describing the current electricity situation in many institutions as “disturbing” and a threat to effective service delivery.

“The lack of stable power supply has created crisis situations in some schools and hospitals, with institutions unable to afford local electricity,” he explained, adding that blackouts and occasional industrial actions have occurred due to unreliable power.

Mr Adelabu said similar renewable energy projects have already been implemented in some institutions, supported by the World Bank.

He said completed projects include the University of Abuja and University of Niger with both 12 Megawatts (MW) solar while the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto has 8MW.

Others are the Nigerian Defence Academy (2.6MW) and the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, which also uses solar power.

The newly approved funding will support electrification in eight additional universities and teaching hospitals nationwide.

These are University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Ibadan and the University College Hospital (UCH), and University of Calabar.

The Federal University, Wukari is also among the new beneficiaries.

Mr Adelabu said these new projects are expected to be completed within seven to nine months.

“This is another step to ensure our universities enjoy uninterrupted electricity. Our institutions will never be the same again,” he noted.

The second project approved targets Agricultural Centres of Excellence in rural areas using solar energy technology.

“This goes beyond lighting homes; it supports productive use of solar-powered equipment in rural areas,” Mr Adelabu said, explaining that the aim is to light up rural homes and power agro-processing businesses using solar systems.

The initiative will deliver solar-powered processing tools to small and micro agricultural enterprises in underserved communities.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Fidelity Bank Plc under the leadership of Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe is doing everything possible to improve the human capacity index of Nigeria by investing in education.

Recently, the financial institution donated about 1,000 solar-powered school bags to pupils in public primary schools in Ogun State.

The gesture was through its Lighting Young Minds initiative developed to improve access to quality education across the country.

“At Fidelity Bank, we see education as not only a means of knowledge transfer, but as a transformative force—a bridge to opportunity,” Mrs Onyeali-Ikpe said at the unveiled of the programme in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Friday, July 4, 2025.

The initiative reflects the bank’s commitment to tackling systemic barriers to learning—particularly the challenge of limited electricity in underserved communities, and it specifically aligns with one of the lender’s core Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) pillars of expanding access to quality education.

The bank executive explained that through the company’s SWEETA initiative, 1,000 solar-powered school bags are being donated to enable children to study safely at night, without the dangers associated with candles or kerosene lamps.

“Beyond helping them improve their academic performance,” she added, “we want to inspire young minds to see that innovation and resilience can light the path to a better future.”

The chief executive also highlighted Fidelity Bank’s broader investment in education, such as the SWEETA School Fees Support Initiative, which has disbursed over N8 billion in tuition support to eligible customers; the Read2Lead Writing Competition, which has impacted more than 3,000 students across Nigeria through prizes and grants; the Back-to-School Loans for parents; the Fidelity EduLoan which helps schools with infrastructure upgrades and asset acquisition; as well as the Green Energy Financing Program, which complements the solar-powered bag initiative by promoting sustainable energy use in education via solar energy.

The solar-powered bags—designated for schools across all 20 local government areas in Ogun State—were officially unveiled by Mrs Onyeali-Ikpe alongside the First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun.

The wife of Governor Dapo Abiodun praised the project, calling it a crucial and timely intervention in child development and foundational learning.

“This initiative directly enhances learning for children in communities with limited electricity. It’s a brilliant example of how simple, practical innovations can drive profound change—keeping children in school and helping them thrive,” she said.

She further noted its alignment with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, which promotes inclusive and equitable quality education for all, and called on other private sector players to emulate Fidelity Bank’s leadership in social impact.

The Lighting Young Minds initiative is an extension of Fidelity Bank’s mission of empowering Nigeria’s future generations through inclusive, sustainable, and forward-thinking educational solutions. As the bank continues to bridge opportunity gaps, it remains steadfast in its pursuit of a brighter future for children across the country.