Ayodele Ademiluyi, convener of the Ife Book and Arts Festival and curator of the Books Feast Collective, has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, and several senior officials over donations raised during Mrs. Tinubu’s 65th birthday for the completion of the abandoned National Library headquarters in Abuja.
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/1900/25, was filed on behalf of Ademiluyi and the Booksfeast Collective. Respondents include the President, the First Lady, the Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Education Tunji Alausa, the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Librarian, the National Library Board, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Zenith Bank Plc, and the EFCC.
The case follows a fundraising appeal by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, who asked well-wishers to contribute to an “Education Fund” instead of sending birthday gifts. She later announced that the initiative had received over ₦20 billion in donations. The call sparked public criticism, with many Nigerians accusing the government of abdicating its responsibility to complete the long-delayed project.
Ademiluyi is seeking an order compelling the EFCC to investigate the Zenith Bank account used for the fundraiser and to make public all donations and their utilisation. He also asked the court to direct President Tinubu to allocate at least 26 per cent of the 2026 federal budget to education, in line with UNESCO recommendations, and to channel a significant portion to the National Book Development Centre under the NERDC.