Fact-Check

FACTCHECK: Has Nigeria Really Been Delisted from the International Mathematical Olympiad?

Written by IndyPress UI on

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By Gbayesola Samuel

Claim

A social media post by education advocate Alex Onyia claims that Nigeria has been “delisted” from the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and can now only participate as an observer nation after the Federal Ministry of Education allegedly failed to fund the country’s participation through the National Mathematical Centre for four consecutive years.

Verdict

Misleading.

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IndyPress found that Nigeria has indeed been absent from the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in recent years, and the IMO regulations contain provisions for observer participation by countries that have missed previous editions. 

However, IndyPress found no official statement from the IMO confirming that Nigeria has been formally “delisted” or that it has been assigned observer status for the 2026 competition. Likewise, the claim that four consecutive years of funding failure directly resulted in this status could not be independently verified.

Full Text

On June 25, 2026, education advocate Alex Onyia published a post on X (formerly twitter) claiming Nigeria had been “delisted” from the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) after four consecutive years of funding failure by the Federal Ministry of Education through the National Mathematical Centre (NMC).

The claim quickly spread across numerous websites and blogs, many of which reproduced Onyia’s post almost verbatim without citing any official statement from the IMO, the National Mathematical Centre or the Federal Ministry of Education.

Verification

To verify the claim, IndyPress examined the origin of the viral post, reviewed the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) regulations and participation records, analyzed previous reports on Nigeria’s Olympiad funding, reviewed federal budget documents, and sought responses from both the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) and the IMO.

The claim originated from a single social media post

 

Findings showed that the assertion was first made by education advocate Alex Onyia on social media before being reproduced by several news websites and blogs. While many of the reports repeated that Nigeria had been “delisted” from the IMO, none cited an official statement from the National Mathematical Centre, or the Federal Ministry of Education confirming the country’s status.

This prompted a review of the IMO’s official records.

IndyPress can confirm that Nigeria has been absent from recent IMO competitions

Checks on the IMO’s official website confirmed that Nigeria has not appeared among participating countries in recent editions of the competition. Records reviewed by IndyPress show that Nigeria participated in the Olympiad from 2006 until 2021, after which the country no longer appeared among competing teams.

However, while reviewing the IMO’s publications, IndyPress found no announcement stating that Nigeria had been “delisted.”

Although the IMO published information on the 66th International Mathematical Olympiad scheduled to be held in Shanghai, China, from July 10 to 20, 2026, the publication did not include a list of participating countries. Instead, it identified only the observer countries for the event which consist of Bermuda, Ethiopia, Kuwait, and Lebanon.

IMO publication as of June 25, 2026.

Nigeria was not listed among the observer countries, nor was there any official communication declaring that the country had been removed from the competition.

Furthermore, IMO regulations do not describe absent countries as “delisted”

Section 2.9 of the IMO Regulations states:

“A country or territory that has not participated in any of the three previous IMOs may be invited to send a team, or to send an Observer with a view to sending a team to the following IMO, with the approval of the IMO Board and the Host Countries for the following two IMOs.”

The provision is significant for two reasons.

First, the regulation uses the word “may”, indicating that observer participation is based on the discretion of the organizers rather than an automatic consequence of prolonged absence.

Secondly, the regulation describes observer participation as a pathway for countries returning to the competition. At no point does the regulation use the term “delisted” or state that countries automatically lose their status after missing consecutive editions.

While this established what the regulations say, it did not answer another aspect of the viral claim that Nigeria’s alleged status resulted from four consecutive years of funding failure.

To examine that claim, IndyPress reviewed previous reports and official responses on the issue.

Funding concerns are not new

This is not the first time questions have been raised over Nigeria’s participation in the IMO.

In October 2025, Alex Onyia claimed that 15-year-old mathematics prodigy Agbo Adoga was unable to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad because the Federal Ministry of Education failed to sponsor him.

The Ministry, however, denied receiving any sponsorship request.

In a press release dated October 19, 2025, it stated:

“The Ministry affirms that there is no record or correspondence in its files indicating any such request for sponsorship from any recognised body.”

It further added:

“Accordingly, any relevant or verifiable information regarding this matter should be formally presented to the Ministry for necessary action.”

The statement concluded:

“The public is advised to disregard unverified reports and ensure that all education-related matters are confirmed through the Ministry’s official communication channels.”

Notably, the Ministry’s response addressed the absence of a formal sponsorship request in its records. It did not make any broader statement on the adequacy of funding for Olympiad participation.

Independent reporting acknowledged funding challenges

Following the Ministry’s response in 2025, FIJ conducted an independent investigation and interviewed Nigeria’s Olympiad Head, Ojo Solomon.

Speaking on funding, Solomon said: “It is not enough, but we are trying to manage whatever we are given every year. As I have said, it is not enough.”

He also described the competition as “capital intensive,” adding: “If after we have exhausted our own budgetary provision, and we contact the Federal Ministry, if they don’t want to give us, there’s nothing we can do.”

However, FIJ also reported that it could not independently verify claims regarding the effect of Nigeria’s prolonged absence on its status at the IMO.

This raised another question: if funding had been an issue for several years, what do the government’s own budget documents show?

Federal budget documents show recurring allocations for Olympiad programmes

To answer this, IndyPress reviewed federal budget documents covering 2017 to 2026.

The review found that the National Mathematical Centre received annual appropriations under Project Code 0517021025, titled “YEARLY INTERVENTION OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE OLYMPIAD COMPETITION.”

2017B

The allocations increased over the years, from ₦5.96 million in 2017 to ₦100 million in 2025, before ₦70 million was appropriated in 2026.

The existence of these annual appropriations indicates that Olympiad-related programmes remained in the Federal Government’s budget throughout the period covered by the claim.

However, the budget documents do not establish whether the appropriated sums were eventually released to the Centre or how much of the allocation was specifically utilised for Nigeria’s participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

National Mathematical Centre responds

IndyPress first contacted the former Director of the National Mathematical Centre, who stated that he no longer occupied the position.

The enquiry was subsequently directed to the Acting Director and Chief Executive, Professor Benjamin Oyediran Oyelami.

Responding via email, he wrote:

“I am aware of mischievous information being spread in social media.”

On the allegation itself, he stated:

“That the Nigerian government has refused to provide needed funds for the Mathematics Olympiad, therefore, Nigeria has been relegated to an observer status. This is a political propaganda from the haters of the present government.”

On funding, he said:

“Funding Olympiad is not only by the government alone; there are components of private sector engagement.”

He further disclosed:

“Following our memo to him on a need for special intervention on all Olympiad competitions, he graciously recommended that some quantum of funds be given to the Centre.”

Professor Oyelami also informed IndyPress that:

“A rejoinder is being prepared and will be released to the public by the Centre’s Public Relations office during the week.”

According to him:

“This rejoinder will contain detailed information on our engagement with IMO in the last four years.”

While these statements represent the Centre’s official response, IndyPress could not independently verify the assertions contained in the email.

IMO yet to respond

IndyPress also contacted the International Mathematical Olympiad, seeking clarification on whether Nigeria has officially been designated an observer nation, whether the organisation officially uses the term “delisted,” and what Nigeria’s participation status is for the 2026 competition.

As of the time of publication, the IMO had not responded to the enquiry.

Conclusion

IndyPress confirmed that Nigeria has not participated in recent editions of the International Mathematical Olympiad and that the IMO regulations provide for observer participation by countries absent from previous competitions.

However, IndyPress found no official IMO communication confirming that Nigeria has been formally “delisted” or officially assigned observer status for the 2026 competition.

Similarly, while previous reporting and interviews with Olympiad officials point to longstanding funding constraints, IndyPress could not independently establish that “four consecutive years” of funding failure directly resulted in Nigeria’s alleged status.

The claim therefore contains elements supported by available evidence but presents unverified conclusions as established fact, making it misleading.

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