The National Mathematical Centre (NMC) has dismissed claims that Nigeria was relegated to observer status by the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), describing the report as false and misleading.
This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the Controller of Information and Public Relations at the Centre, Mr Onyekachi Njoku.
Njoku said Nigeria’s absence from the 2025 and 2026 IMO competitions was not due to inadequate funding by the Federal Government, but because the country did not receive official invitation letters from the organisers.
He explained that under IMO rules, participating countries must receive formal invitation letters before registering students for the competition.
He said the invitation was also necessary for processing visas and other travel arrangements for students and team leaders.
According to him, Nigeria could not register participants for the 2025 and 2026 editions because no invitation was received from the organisers.
He said the country’s team leader was therefore unable to complete the registration process.
Njoku recalled that Nigeria only participated as an observer nation in 2005 when it first attended the IMO in Mexico to register for future participation.
He said that since then, Nigeria had consistently taken part in the competition and won medals.
He added that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, had continued to support students’ participation in international academic competitions.
“The claim that the government has failed to fund Olympiad activities for four consecutive years is false and misleading,” he said.
Njoku noted that Nigeria recently participated in the 2026 Pan African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO) in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, where the Acting Director and Chief Executive of the Centre, Prof. Benjamin Oyelami, led the Nigerian delegation.
He also said the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, had approved Nigeria’s participation in all international Olympiad competitions this year and authorised attendance at the 26th Coordinating Council Meeting in Surabaya (COMSATS), Indonesia.
According to him, the minister has also approved special intervention to support the country’s participation in future Olympiad competitions.
Njoku said the Centre was taking steps to prevent a recurrence of the registration challenges.
He reaffirmed that Nigeria remained committed to participating in international mathematics and science Olympiads and would continue to provide opportunities for students to compete globally.
