President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday led members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in a solemn tribute to the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who passed away on July 13. The event, held during a special FEC session at the State House, was attended by cabinet ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, two state governors, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
According to his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu eulogised Buhari as a patriot, disciplinarian, and incorruptible leader whose life was marked by humility, integrity, and selfless service to Nigeria. “His presence once commanded this room. His convictions never bowed. His patriotism was lived more in action than in words,” Tinubu said.
In honour of the late president’s legacy, Tinubu announced the renaming of the University of Maiduguri to Muhammadu Buhari University.
The President also recalled Buhari’s unwavering support for his presidential bid in 2022. Budget and Economic Planning Minister, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, read a letter Buhari sent to APC governors after the primaries, expressing confidence in Tinubu’s leadership and urging full support for his candidacy.
“His life was a rebuke to vice and a refuge for virtue,” President Tinubu added. “Though not a perfect man—no leader is—he was, in every sense, a good and honourable man.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, and several ministers praised Buhari’s austere lifestyle, principled leadership, and devotion to national service. Akpabio said Buhari “gave everything he had to a country that asked everything of him,” while Abbas called him “a man of quiet strength and moral clarity.”
Kwara State Governor and NGF Chairman, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, described Buhari as a statesman and patriot whose legacy would endure. Other tributes came from ministers including Dele Alake, Ali Pate, Dave Umahi, Festus Keyamo, and Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim.
Yusuf Buhari, representing the family, thanked the President, Vice President, and Nigerians for the overwhelming support, noting that Buhari was “regarded far more than a politician—he was seen as a friend and father to all.”
