By Chesa Chesa
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent a five-person delegation to represent him and Nigeria at the final burial rites of Rev. Jesse Jackson, the American civil rights leader, activist and former presidential candidate who died at age 84 on February 17, 2026, in Chicago.
Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, is the leader of the delegation, according to a press statement issued Wednesday by Tinubu’s office.
Other members are 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, Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye.
The delegation will deliver President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family.
In an earlier tribute, President Tinubu described Reverend Jackson as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa.
“He 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”, President Tinubu wrote.
