President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dispatched a five-member delegation to represent Nigeria at the final burial rites of American civil rights icon, Reverend Jesse Jackson.<\/p>\n
Jackson, a renowned activist and former U.S. presidential candidate, passed away on February 17, 2026, at the age of 84 in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Leading the Nigerian delegation is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.<\/p>\n
Other members include the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; the Special Presidential Envoy for Global and Pan-African Affairs, Brian Browne; and the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye.<\/p>\n
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the President\u2019s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the delegation will formally deliver President Tinubu\u2019s message of condolences to the Jackson family.<\/p>\n
In an earlier tribute, President Tinubu described Reverend Jackson as \u201ca great friend of Nigeria and Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a moral voice and a formidable resistance to apartheid in South Africa. He played a leading role in the campaign for the release from prison of Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress leaders. He won critical support for sanctions against the then-apartheid government,\u201d the President stated.<\/p>\n
The burial programme began on February 26 with a lying-in-state at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago. Services were also scheduled in South Carolina and Washington, D.C., including a lying-in-state at the South Carolina Statehouse from March 1 to 5.<\/p>\n
A \u201cPeople\u2019s Celebration\u201d will be held on March 6 at the House of Hope in Chicago, followed by a private homegoing service on March 7 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dispatched a five-member delegation to represent Nigeria at the final burial rites of American civil rights icon, Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jackson, a renowned activist and former U.S. presidential candidate, passed away on February 17, 2026, at the age of 84 in Chicago. Leading the Nigerian delegation is the Secretary to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":196563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"\n