First Lady presents cash support to Maryam Ibrahim Dan-Azumi after her victory at the King Abdulaziz International Qur’anic Competition in Saudi Arabia.

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has rewarded Maryam Ibrahim Dan-Azumi, winner of the King Abdulaziz International Qur’anic Competition in Saudi Arabia, with N20 million to support her education.

The cash gift was presented to Maryam at the Presidential Villa in Abuja when Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, led a delegation comprising her parents and teachers to introduce her to the First Lady.

Governor Yahaya announced the gesture in a Facebook post, thanking Mrs Tinubu for the warm reception and the N20 million educational support for the Qur’anic scholar.

Maryam, a student of Abubakar Siddiq Community School for Qur’anic Memorisation in Gombe, emerged the overall winner of the second category at the 46th edition of the international competition held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

She scored 97.70 marks in the category, which tested contestants on memorisation of the entire Qur’an, recitation, Tajweed and interpretation.

Her victory came in the first edition of the 46-year-old competition to admit female contestants. She reportedly received a prize of N120 million from the Saudi organisers.

According to a statement by the Gombe State Government House spokesperson, Ismaila Uba Misilli, Tinubu described Maryam as a source of pride to Nigerian women and the girl-child.

The First Lady also praised her for bringing honour to Nigeria through her achievement in Qur’anic knowledge and recitation.

Maryam, a final-year Physics Education student at Gombe State University, had previously won the female category of the 40th National Qur’anic Recitation Competition in Maiduguri.

Her achievement also comes against the background of her family’s strong record in international Qur’anic competitions.

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

Governor Yahaya said Maryam’s latest achievement had brought pride to Gombe State and Nigeria, describing it as another demonstration of the state’s contribution to Qur’anic education and excellence.