A human rights lawyer, Ayodele Ademiluyi, has petitioned the federal high court in Abuja to compel President Bola Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi, to reveal how the donation for the National Library project will be spent.
Those joined in the suit are the President, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa;
National Librarian/Chief Executive Officer of National Library of Nigeria, Chinwe Veronica; National Library Of Nigeria Board; Nigerian Educational Research Development Council; Zenith Bank PLC; and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Recall that on September 1, the first lady announced that she would dedicate her 65th birthday, celebrated on September 21, to the completion of the National Library project.
The president’s wife had appealed to friends and supporters who may wish to send cards, cakes, flowers, newspaper messages or other presents to send funds to an account designated for the library project.
According to her, the initiative is being coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Education under the “Oluremi at 65 Education Fund,” in an account domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc.
DAILY POST reports that the First Lady, while speaking at a lunch with State House Correspondents on Tuesday to mark her 65th birthday, said N20,456,188,924 has been raised for the completion of the project.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ademiluyi said he had filed a suit with the number — FHC/L/CS/1900/25 to compel the first lady to discuss how the donation will be used for completion of the national library headquarters.
According to the lawyer, the suit seeks an order of mandamus compelling the EFCC to probe the account being used for the project.
The suit also seeks an order of court compelling President Bola Tinubu to “allocate at least 26 percent of the 2026 budgetary allocation to the federal ministry of education and by extension a serious percentage thereof to the National Book Development Centre of the Nigerian Educational Research Development Council”.
