President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the prestigious Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) title on Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates during a ceremony in Lagos on June 3, 2025.
Bill Gates, who is currently in Africa visited Nigeria after leaving Ethiopia and visiting the Commissioner of the African Union.
The honor recognizes Gates’ contributions to Nigeria through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested over $2 billion since 2012.
During the event, Bill Gates signed an agreement with the Nigerian government to establish the Nigerian AI Scaling Hub.
The hub will focus on developing AI-driven solutions tailored to Nigeria’s needs, including smart diagnostics in healthcare, agricultural forecasting, and adaptive learning platforms in education.
Tinubu praised Gates for his “decades-long commitment to improving lives” in Nigeria and across Africa.
Bill Gates, in turn, reaffirmed his pledge to donate 99% of his $200 billion fortune to African development over the next 20 years, with a focus on health and education.
Today, I conferred the Nigerian National Honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Mr Bill Gates @BillGates in recognition of his decades-long commitment to improving lives through interventions in global health & polio eradication, education, digital innovation, and… pic.twitter.com/pvpil3Scto
— Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@officialABAT) June 3, 2025
