The wife of the President, Oluremi Tinubu, has donated ₦110 million to support the families of the 22 Kano athletes who tragically lost their lives in a road accident earlier this year.
The First Lady’s gesture comes three months after the fatal crash that claimed the lives of 22 individuals, including journalists, as they were returning from Ogun State, where they had participated in the National Sports Festival.
Tinubu’s donation was made through the Victim Support Fund, with each bereaved family receiving ₦5 million to help ease their hardship and support their recovery.
According to the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf’s spokesperson, Sanusi Tofa, the First Lady’s intervention was delivered through a delegation led by Laila Barau Jibrin, wife of the Deputy Senate President.
“In a matching gesture of empathy and leadership, Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, also provided an additional ₦130 million, with each of the 10 injured athletes receiving ₦2 million and a plot of land, while the families of the deceased received an extra ₦5 million each,” Tofa said on Thursday.
Speaking during the presentation, Yusuf expressed heartfelt appreciation to the First Lady, describing her intervention as “a clear demonstration of compassion, leadership, and shared humanity.”
He noted that her support had significantly complemented the state’s own efforts to assist the victims’ families during their time of grief.
So far, donations from government and private individuals, including ₦32 million from Ogun State and ₦20 million from Jigawa, have brought total financial support for the affected families to over ₦321 million.
