The Nigerian government has donated a sum of $1m in support funds to the Turkish government.
A delegation of the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari, led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Minister delivered the support funds to the Turkish government on Sunday.
Bello and other members of the delegation were received by the Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador 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
Bellow noted that Buhari was unable to personally pay a condolence visit to the country due to the scheduled general election 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 Buhari, the government, and the people of Nigeria for their show of solidarity, and financial, as well as material support to the Republic of Turkey in her trying times.