TINUBU SETS UP COMMITTEE FOR STATE BURIAL AS BUHARI’S BODY ARRIVES KATSINA TUESDAY
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the constitution of an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate a dignified state burial for the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in London on Sunday at the age of 82 after a prolonged illness.
Announcing the development in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the committee will work closely with the Katsina State Government and Buhari’s family to ensure a befitting burial programme.
The committee will be chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume. Members include ministers of finance, budget and planning, defence, works, interior, FCT, housing, health, culture, and foreign affairs, among others. Also on the committee are the National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Chief of Defence Staff. The General Services Office (GSO) will serve as the secretariat.
President Tinubu also directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to open condolence registers for members of the public. Similar registers will be available at Nigerian embassies and missions abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
Meanwhile, a high-level Federal Government delegation led by Vice President Kashim Shettima is currently in London to finalise arrangements for the repatriation of Buhari’s remains. Acting on behalf of President Tinubu, Shettima paid condolence visits to Buhari’s widow, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, and his ailing nephew, Mamman Daura.
The delegation includes Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum; Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar; and Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia.
According to presidency sources, Buhari’s body is expected to arrive Katsina by noon on Tuesday. A military honour ceremony will be conducted at the airport, where President Tinubu will personally receive the remains before they are transported to Daura for the *Jana’iza* (funeral prayer) and interment at 2 p.m. in line with Islamic rites.
Twenty-five members of the Federal Executive Council have been directed to attend the burial and remain in Daura for the third-day prayers scheduled for Wednesday.
President Tinubu has declared a seven-day national mourning period beginning Sunday, July 13, during which national flags are to fly at half-mast across Nigeria. A public holiday was also declared for Tuesday in honour of the late president.
Consequently, the Federal Executive Council meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed to Friday, July 18.
Already, mourners have begun arriving at Buhari’s Daura residence to pay their respects, while security has been heightened around the Emirate Council. Final arrangements are underway at the London hospital for the release of his remains.
Tributes have continued to pour in from across Nigeria and the international community for the late statesman, who led the country first as a military ruler from 1984 to 1985, and later as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023.
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