A human rights lawyer, Ayodele Ademiluyi, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order to compel the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to disclose how the funds donated towards the National Library project will be utilised.
Joined as defendants in the suit are President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, the National Librarian/Chief Executive Officer of the National Library of Nigeria, Chinwe Veronica, the National Library of Nigeria Board, the Nigerian Educational Research Development Council, Zenith Bank Plc, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It will be recalled that on September 1, the First Lady announced that she would dedicate her 65th birthday, celebrated on September 21, to raising funds for the completion of the National Library headquarters. She appealed to friends and supporters to channel their goodwill gestures into donations through an account designated for the project.
According to her, the initiative is being coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Education under the “Oluremi at 65 Education Fund,” with the account domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc. At a luncheon with State House Correspondents to mark her birthday, Mrs. Tinubu disclosed that over ₦20.4 billion had already been raised for the project.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ademiluyi confirmed that he had filed suit number FHC/L/CS/1900/25, seeking an order of mandamus to compel the First Lady to provide details on how the donations will be applied to the completion of the National Library. He further prayed the court to direct the EFCC to investigate the account being used for the project.
The lawyer also urged the court to compel President Tinubu to allocate at least 26 percent of the 2026 federal budget to the Ministry of Education, with a significant portion earmarked for the National Book Development Centre of the Nigerian Educational Research Development Council, in line with global best practices for funding education.
