The Federal Government has approved about N155.3 billion for the completion and furnishing of the long-abandoned National Library of Nigeria headquarters in Abuja.
The approval includes N118.309 billion for the augmentation of the existing construction contract and about N37 billion for furnishing the complex.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, saying President Bola Tinubu had directed the ministry to explore credible funding sources to complete the project.
According to Alausa, the funding effort includes resources from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and about N25 billion raised through donations mobilised by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
“President Bola Tinubu, when he came in, mandated that we look for real funds, that we use in completing this National Library,” Alausa said.
The minister also credited the First Lady with helping to raise the money after she directed well-wishers to channel gifts meant for her 65th birthday towards the National Library project.
“She was able to help us raise about N25bn,” he said.
The fundraising was launched in September 2025 under the Oluremi@65 Education Fund, after Mrs Tinubu appealed to Nigerians to replace birthday gifts, cakes, flowers and congratulatory newspaper adverts with donations for the project.
The fund initially raised N20.4 billion within days of its launch and eventually recorded more than N25.5 billion before it was closed at the end of December 2025.
Mrs Tinubu had described the National Library as a national treasure and said her interest in completing the project was influenced by her background in education and the importance of libraries in her early life.
The fundraising appeal also triggered public debate, with critics questioning why citizens should be asked to contribute towards the completion of a major federal institution after years of government spending and budgetary commitments.
The National Library headquarters project has been stalled for nearly two decades.
Construction began in April 2006 and was originally expected to be completed within two years. Work stopped in October 2008, leaving the massive Abuja complex unfinished through successive administrations.
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund had earlier set aside an initial N15 billion tranche for the project in 2022 as part of efforts to restart construction.
The latest Federal Executive Council approval represents a much larger funding intervention, covering both construction and furnishing.
Alausa said the government expected construction work to resume within the next few months.
He described the project as more than an unfinished government building, saying the completed facility would provide a modern national centre for learning, research, scholarship, information access and preservation of Nigeria’s intellectual heritage.
The National Library of Nigeria is the country’s apex library and has a statutory responsibility for collecting and preserving Nigeria’s published knowledge and making it accessible to the public.
For the Federal Government, the renewed funding is expected to finally move the project from years of stalled construction towards completion.
The key challenge now will be ensuring that the approved funds translate into continuous work on site and delivery of the long-awaited national knowledge institution.
