In a tribute that blended personal recollection with national reverence, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday, July 17, 2025, led members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in a solemn special session to honour the late immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as a leader whose “life was a rebuke to vice and a refuge for virtue.”
The former Head of State and two-term civilian president was laid to rest in Daura, Katsina State, two days earlier. President Tinubu, who personally led the funeral procession alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima, delivered a moving eulogy at the session held inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
READ ALSO: Buhari championed democracy, national progress – Ex-IG Okiro
“Today, we gather under a heavy shadow, drawn from the silence that surrounds a departed leader and the immense weight of a life whose absence will be felt for generations,” Tinubu began, his voice solemn, as ministers and dignitaries sat in reflective silence. “We meet to honour a man whose presence once commanded this very room… whose convictions never bowed, even to the strongest winds of public opinion.”
The President described Buhari as a man who embodied personal austerity and moral rectitude throughout his life and career — whether on the battlefield, in the corridors of political power, or in the quiet dignity of his private life.
“Pious without show, just without cruelty, humane without sentimentality, temperate without coldness, and sincere without guile,” Tinubu noted, emphasizing the rare consistency between Buhari’s public persona and private conduct.
President Tinubu lauded Buhari’s humility and restraint, stressing that despite holding the highest office in the land, he remained grounded and indifferent to the trappings of power. “He stood, always, ramrod straight; unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular,” he said.
Tinubu paid particular attention to Buhari’s impact on Nigeria’s democratic development, referencing their political alliance that helped usher in the country’s first democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another in 2015.
“We stood together, he and I. Alongside others drawn from across the political spectrum, regions and tongues, we formed an alliance that enabled Nigeria to experience its first true democratic transfer of power,” the President recounted. “When he was sworn in as our party’s first elected President, he led with restraint, governed with dignity, and bore the burdens of leadership without complaint.”
Even after the expiration of his tenure in 2023, Buhari refused to meddle in national affairs from behind the scenes, a rare posture in African leadership. “When his tenure ended, he returned to Daura; not to command from the shadows or to hold court, but to live as he always had… content to let others carry the nation forward,” Tinubu said.
The President did not shy away from acknowledging the complexities that came with Buhari’s leadership but placed emphasis on his moral fibre and enduring legacy.
“President Buhari was not a perfect man – no leader is – but he was, in every sense of the word, a good man, a decent man, an honourable man,” he affirmed. “His record will be debated, as all legacies are, but the character he brought to public life, the moral force he carried, the incorruptible standard he represented, will not be forgotten.”
President Tinubu urged Nigerians to see Buhari’s life as a guiding light for public service. “Let us honour him not only with words, but with humility in power, discipline in service, compassion in governance, and fearlessness in the pursuit of justice.”
The President thanked the Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State for organizing what he called a “befitting State Funeral within 48 hours.”
In closing, Tinubu expressed condolences to the late President’s wife, Hajia Aisha Buhari, his children, and the entire Buhari family. “Our gratitude will remain with President Buhari’s family members who provided him with the comfort and strength to serve our nation in various capacities throughout his over 50 years of public service.”
Addressing the late Buhari directly, Tinubu said: “Mai Gaskiya, The People’s General, the Farmer President – your duty is done. May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljannah Firdaus. May his life continue to inspire generations of Nigerians to serve with courage, conviction, and selflessness.”
As the Council session drew to a close, the room was left in pensive quiet—a nation reflecting on the departure of a man whose moral stature shaped an era and whose life, as Tinubu eloquently stated, “gave radiance to the discipline and integrity of public service.”
 in a solemn special session to honour the late immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as a leader whose "life was a rebuke to vice and a refuge for virtue."){kind=link}