President Bola Tinubu has sent a five-person delegation to represent him and Nigeria at the final burial rites of Reverend Jesse Jackson, the American civil rights leader, activist and former presidential candidate.
Jackson died at age 84 on February 17, 2026, in Chicago according to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the delegation will be led by Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
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, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye.
Onanuga said the delegation would deliver President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family.
In an earlier tribute, Tinubu described Jackson as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa.
“He was a moral voice and a formidable opponent of 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 wrote.
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., 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.
