SGF Akume heads 5-person Nigerian delegation to US for Jesse Jackson’s burial

*President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sends a five-person delegation to represent him and Nigeria at the final burial rites for Rev. Jesse Jackson, foremost American civil rights leader, activist and former presidential candidate, in the United States

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has dispatched a five-person delegation to represent him and Nigeria at the final burial rites for Rev. Jesse Jackson, foremost American civil rights leader, activist and former presidential candidate in the United States (US).

ConsumerConnect reports Jackson passed away February 17, 2026, in Chicago, United States at age 84.

Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), is the leader of the delegation.

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 Nigerian Government said the delegation would deliver President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family in the US.

Earlier, in his tribute, the Nigeria leader has described Reverend Jackson as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa.

Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, stated President Tinubu said: “He was a moral voice and a formidable resistance to apartheid in South Africa.

“The President also recalled that Jackson 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.”

The burial programme for the American civil rights leader began February 26, with a lying-in-state at Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago. Services in South Carolina and Washington, D.C., and a lying-in-state at the South Carolina Statehouse were scheduled for March 1-5.

On March 6, a “People’s Celebration” will take place at House of Hope in Chicago, followed by a private homegoing on March 7 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.