Oluremi Tinubu gives Qur’anic competition winner N20m

The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has given N20m to Maryam Ibrahim Dan’Azumi, who recently won the King Abdulaziz International Qur’anic Competition in Saudi Arabia.

The money was presented to Maryam at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday when Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, led a delegation to present her to the First Lady.

Yahaya disclosed the development in a Facebook post on Tuesday, saying he appreciated Tinubu for the “warm reception and N20m support towards Maryam’s education.”

Maryam, a student of Abubakar Siddiq Community School for Qur’anic Memorisation in Gombe, emerged the overall winner of the second category of the 46th King Abdulaziz International Qur’an Recitation Competition held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

She competed in the category covering memorisation of the entire Holy Qur’an, recitation, Tajweed and interpretation, scoring 97.70 marks.

Her victory came in the first edition of the 46-year-old competition to admit female contestants.

Maryam’s achievement came with a reported prize of N120m from the Saudi competition.

A statement signed by the Director-General (Press Affairs), Government House, Gombe, Ismaila Uba Misilli, said the first lady described the Qur’anic scholar as a source of pride to Nigerian women and the girl-child.

“Maryam has brought joy to us. You have made us proud by conquering the world, especially in this area of faith and divine knowledge,” the First Lady said.

PUNCH Online reports that she had also previously won the female category at the 40th National Qur’anic Recitation Competition in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The final-year Physics Education student of Gombe State University also has a history of Qur’anic excellence in her family.

Her elder sister, Hajara Ibrahim Dan-Azumi, won the 18th Hashemite Jordan International Qur’anic Competition for Females in Jordan in 2024.

Yahaya said Maryam’s achievement had made both Gombe and Nigeria proud.

The governor was accompanied by Maryam’s parents, teachers and other members of the Gombe delegation during the visit to the Presidential Villa.