Federal Government has donated a $1 million support fund to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey. Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammed Musa Bello, announced the donation when he led the Federal Government delegation to the country at the weekend.

Bello and other members of the delegation were received by the Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Ankara, the Turkish capital.

The visit followed on the heels of the tragic 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6, which resulted in the death of about 50,000 people, including former Chelsea and Ghanaian footballer, Christian Atsu.

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

The FCT Minister 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 Turkey over the devastating earthquake.

The Minister also handed over Buhari’s letter of condolence as well as a Central Bank of Nigeria Promissory Note of $1,000, 000 for onward transmission to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

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

Meanwhile, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, in his remarks, explained that President Erdoğan was unable to personally receive the delegation due to the exigencies of directly overseeing humanitarian efforts in the 11 quake-hit southern provinces of Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.

The Minister thanked President Buhari, the government and people of Nigeria for their show of solidarity, financial, as well as material support to the Republic of Turkey in her trying times.

He noted that the First Lady of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari, had earlier donated 10, 000 blankets on behalf of the African First Ladies Forum to the humanitarian efforts in the country.

Çavuşoğlu told the Nigerian delegation that as of February 23, no fewer than 43,000 persons had been confirmed dead while 14 million people were affected in 11 provinces of the country. He added that the government had resolved to embark on rebuilding new cities with all associated infrastructure in all the locations of the disaster.

The Minister, while wishing Nigeria successful and peaceful general elections, reiterated that in compliance with the country’s constitution, the Government of Türkiye was also committed to conducting its forthcoming general election scheduled to take place on June 18, 2023, despite the devastating effects of the earthquake.

The Guardian