On September 10, 2025, an online news platform, NewsFlash Nigeria, reported that Anambra State had dropped to 33rd position in Nigeria’s latest education ranking under the administration of Governor Charles Soludo. The report, which has since circulated widely on blogs and social media, claimed that the state’s education sector has experienced a steep decline.
Other platforms such as InfoEast, Jungle Journalists, and NewsOnlineNigeria also published similar stories, repeating the claim that Anambra ranked 33rd in the latest national education index. None of these outlets, however, cited an official report or provided verifiable data to support the assertion.
According to the articles, the “latest national education ranking” shows that Anambra has fallen to 33rd out of 36 states in terms of performance, attributing this to the alleged failure of Governor Soludo’s education policies.
CLAIM: Anambra State dropped to 33rd in Nigeria’s latest education ranking under Governor Soludo.
VERIFICATION:
The CDD War Room investigated the claim that Anambra State has dropped to 33rd in Nigeria’s latest education ranking.
We found that the reports were published by NewsFlash, InfoEast, NewsOnlineNigeria, and Jungle Journalist. However, none of these platforms cited any official source, government agency, or credible dataset to support the claim. The stories merely referenced a “latest national education ranking” without stating who conducted it or when it was released.
We found that on February 25, 2025, The Times Higher Education published the 2025 University Rankings, which ranks universities in Nigeria and globally, based on teaching, research environment, research quality, industry partnerships, and international outlook. The 2025 Nigeria list included institutions such as Covenant University, University of Ibadan, and University of Lagos, but made no reference to any state-level education ranking.
Nigeria has a growing presence in global higher education with 21 universities featured in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025. Covenant University stands out as the best university in Nigeria in 2025, maintaining its position for two consecutive years through strong emphasis on industry collaboration and international outlook. Ahmadu Bello University and Landmark University scored highly on the Research Quality pillar, which evaluates the spread of new knowledge and ideas. Federal universities also play a significant role, with institutions like Bayero University and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, striving to enhance their global positions through academic excellence and industry partnerships.
We found that no such ranking has been issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), or examination bodies such as WAEC and NECO, which are the recognized authorities for publishing education performance data in Nigeria.
We also found that available credible data contradicts the claim. On August 28, 2025, The Nation published a report and ranked Anambra among the most educated states in Nigeria, while the 2024 NECO performance ranking placed the state as the best performer in the South-East, with the highest proportion of students obtaining five credits, including Mathematics and English.
We further found that some of the online reports suggested the figure was drawn from a “functional basic education facility to population ratio.” However, none of them provided a verifiable dataset or link to the original source. This indicates that the figure was either misinterpreted or selectively used, rather than reflecting an official and comprehensive education ranking.
VERDICT: FALSE
CDD War Room found no evidence from credible government agencies, examination bodies, or independent education reports to support the claim that Anambra State dropped to 33rd position in education ranking under Governor Soludo. On the contrary, recent credible data show that the state continues to perform relatively well in education compared to other states in Nigeria.
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