The Federal Government has said it is not aware that the management of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt, wrote to the Ministry of Education, soliciting sponsorship for Agbo Adoga, a 15-year-old student of the school who qualified to represent Nigeria at the International Mathematics Olympiad in China.

Particularly, the Nigerian Government challenged the school to produce evidence of the request.

The development comes amid accusations by the Chief Executive Officer of Educare, Alex Onyia, who lamented that the Ministry refused to sponsor the student to the international championship on the grounds of not having money.

Reacting via X, Onyia (@winexviv) said the student missed out on the contest because the Ministry failed to sponsor him.

“Graceland International School, Port Harcourt, just informed me that Agbo Adoga qualified to represent Nigeria in the International Maths Olympiad in China.

“Nigerian Ministry of Education said they don’t have money to sponsor anybody. So he will not attend. Nigeria lost again!” he tweeted.

The Guardian reports that the news has drawn outrage online, with netizens criticising the Ministry for what many described as negligence and lack of support for young talents representing the country.

Several social media users expressed disappointment that a student who earned the right to compete internationally would be denied the opportunity due to financial constraints, urging both the government and private sector to intervene.

In response, the Federal Ministry of Education, through its spokesperson, denied receiving any formal communication from the school requesting sponsorship for Agbo Adoga.

In a telephone interview with The Guardian on Sunday, Boriowo challenged the school to produce evidence of such a request letter to the Ministry.

“Do they have the document that shows they wrote to our Ministry, requesting funds? Because to the best of my knowledge, we don’t have such records. Maybe it happened a long time ago, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking if they have the document that shows they requested and the Ministry responded that there is no money.

“Because the Director supervising Mathematics said she’s not aware. So, I don’t know when the boy (Agbo Adoga) applied or when the Ministry said there’s no fund. The evidence of presenting the letter should be presented. We do not have such a document. Honestly, we don’t have it,” she said.

As of the time of filing this report, an official press statement is being prepared by the Ministry to react to the report.