Claim: "George Weah did not leave any debt for WAEC. All tuition fees were fully paid during his administration. The only debt that was there belongs to WAEC Headquarters in Nigeria which came from 30 years ago. It was what President Joseph Boakai settled"
Source:Isaac Doe, former Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports
Verdict: False. Documentation shows Liberia's debt to WAEC Headquarters increased from over $2 million to $5.5 million during the Weah administration.
Full Text: On July 9, 2025, Isaac Doe stated on Spoon Talk that former President George Weah did not leave any debt for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). Doe claimed all tuition fees for WAEC sittings were fully paid during the Weah administration, with only a 30-year-old debt to WAEC Headquarters in Nigeria remaining, which President Joseph Boakai settled.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is a regional examination body established in 1952 by five West African countries: Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. In Liberia, WAEC oversees national and regional exams for 9th and 12th graders.
George Weah served as Liberia's 25th President from January 22, 2018, to January 22, 2024. During his presidency, Weah implemented a policy covering tuition for public school students taking WAEC/WASSCE exa
Verification: To verify Doe's claim, Style Media reviewed an interview conducted by OKAY FM on January 31, 2024, with Dale Gbotoe, Head of WAEC-Liberia.
Gbotoe said that the Liberian government has not consistently met payment obligations to WAEC Headquarters over the years. "The arrears go as far back as the 1990s up to 2023. It is not something that just started with the Weah administration, but the failure to settle those obligations made the amount increase."
As of early 2024, Liberia's obligation to WAEC Headquarters was approximately $619,000. Gbotoe noted: "If this amount is not paid by the Boakai administration, it will be added to the existing balance."
In 2023, the government should have paid approximately $4 million but contributed only $604,000.
In 2024, the government paid $600,000, leaving $4,000 unpaid, which was added to the existing debt totaling approximately $5.5 million.
"Over the past ten years, the government has only paid three times, and even those were payments of yearly contributions—not the full arrears."
"When President Weah took office, the debt was a little over $2 million. By the time he left, it had increased to $5.5 million due to non-payment."
Operational Consequences: The WAEC Council decided in December 2022 that countries with debts would not be permitted to register students for exams. Liberia was among those countries. To avoid this restriction in 2023, Liberia paid $600,000 under the Boakai government.
Gbotoe clarified that the Liberian government has two obligations: paying students' WAEC fees and supporting WAEC Headquarters. "President Weah paid students' fees for six years, but he only made one payment for the WAEC Headquarters."
Stage Media attempted to contact WAEC on July 14, 2025, via WhatsApp for additional clarification but received no response at the time of publication. When He does, this story will be updated.
TSM further contacted Doe for evidence to support his claim. Doe said,"Yes sir. The only correction is that the debt came from decades. It could be 30 years, more or less. But I will refer you to the statement of the WAEC boss in Liberia form an Ok FM interview."
Conclusion: Documentation from WAEC-Liberia confirms that while Liberia's debt to WAEC Headquarters has historical origins dating to the 1990s, the debt increased substantially during President George Weah's administration. The debt grew from approximately $2 million when Weah took office to $5.5 million when he left office. The claim that George Weah left no debt to WAEC is factually incorrect.
