Tinubu mourns Jesse Jackson, sends 5-man delegation to burial

Pres. 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.

Jackson died at the age of 84 on February 17, 2026, in Chicago.

Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will lead 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 on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Amb. Sola Enikanolaye.

The delegation will deliver President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family.

In an earlier tribute, Pres. Tinubu described Rev. 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,” the President stated.

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

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