By MUHYIDEEN JIMOH

President Bola Tinubu has sent a five-member delegation to attend the burial of American civil rights leader, Rev. Jesse Jackson.

This is contained in a statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Jackson died on Feb. 17 at the age of 84 in Chicago.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, will lead the delegation.

Other members are the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.

Also on the team are 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 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 resistance to apartheid in South Africa,” the president said.

“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 burial programme began on Feb. 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.

A “People’s Celebration” will hold on March 6 at House of Hope in Chicago, followed by a private homegoing on March 7 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. (NAN)

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