Earth Tremor: Nigeria Donates $1m to Turkiye

By: Wisdom Acka

The government of Nigeria has donated One Million US Dollars to the government of Turkiye as part of humanitarian assistance following the devastating earthquakes that hit that country and Syria February 6th, leaving over 50,000 dead and hundreds homeless.

The donation was made by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Special Envoy of President Muhammadu Buhari to the Republic of Türkiye, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, on 23rd February 2023 in Ankara.

A statement issued on 25th February and signed by Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the FCT Minister, Abubakar Sani, revealed that the Special Envoy was accompanied on the mission by the Nigerian Ambassador to Türkiye, Mallam Ismail Abba Yusuf, and was received by that country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Mallam Bello noted that President Muhammadu Buhari was unable to personally pay a condolence visit to Türkiye due to the general elections in Nigeria holding.

He, however, conveyed the President’s heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Government and people of Türkiye, over the earthquake incident.

The Special Envoy also handed over Mr. President’s Letter of Condolence as well as a Central Bank of Nigeria Promissory Note of USD $1,000,000.00 (one million United States dollars), for onward transmission to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

He explained that the token was a donation by the Government of Nigeria to support the ongoing humanitarian efforts in cushioning the effects of the tragic earthquake.

In his response, Amb. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, explained that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was unable to personally receive the Special Envoy due to exigencies of directly overseeing humanitarian efforts in the eleven quake-hit southern provinces of the country, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir and Gaziantep, among others.

Amb. Çavuşoğlu thanked President Buhari, the Government and people of Nigeria for their show of solidarity, financial as well as material support to the the people of Türkiye in her trying times.

He noted that Nigeria’s First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, had earlier donated ten Thousand (10,000) blankets on behalf of African First Ladies Forum to the ongoing Humanitarian efforts in the country.

Amb. Çavuşoğlu also told the Special Envoy that as at 23rd February 2023, no fewer than 43,000 persons had been confirmed dead, while 14 million people were affected in eleven provinces.

Wishing Nigeria successful and peaceful general elections, Amb. Çavuşoğlu disclosed that, the Government of Türkiye was also committed to conducting general elections scheduled for 18th June 2023, despite the devastating effects of the earthquake, even as he added that the Government has resolved to embark on rebuilding new cities in all the locations of the disaster.