BREAKING: Buhari’s Burial Postponed
The remains of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will no longer arrive in the country today (Monday) as earlier expected, causing a shift in the scheduled burial.
In a post on his X handle Monday afternoon, Bashir Ahmad, a former aide to the late president, announced that Buhari’s body is now expected to arrive in Katsina by noon on Tuesday, with burial scheduled to take place in Daura at 2 p.m. the same day.
“The body of the late President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to arrive in Katsina at 12:00 noon tomorrow, with funeral according to Islamic rites scheduled to take place in his hometown of Daura by 2:00 PM on the same day,” Ahmad said.
Similarly, Empowered Newswire reported that logistics arrangements to bring the body back home today had fallen through.
Informed sources in London told the newspaper that the earliest opportunity for the flight to make it to Nigeria is Tuesday, late in the morning or early afternoon.
This is based on several arrangements ongoing now in London, including flight timing from UK airports, hospital arrangements, and other logistics limitations.
In light of these logistical challenges, the plan to bury Buhari in Daura on Monday has now been shifted to tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15 2025.
Already, Vice President Kassim Shettima is in London and has been briefed about the changes in the plans. The VP was conveying the development to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the time of this report.
A source in the Presidential Villa also confirmed to Empowered Newswire that President Tinubu, who had earlier planned a special Federal Executive Council meeting for Tuesday in honour of the late former president, his predecessor in office, is now considering whether to shift the FEC session to Wednesday.
The President’s plan initially was to personally attend the Burial today in Daura and then preside over the special FEC meeting tomorrow.
But now that the burial can no longer hold today, the President who is still desirous of attending the burial now planned for tomorrow would likely shift the FEC session to honor Buhari to Wednesday from earlier plan to hold it on Tuesday.
Once the President decides what he would do, a notice would go to FEC members who had earlier been notified to attend the session tomorrow.
The president is also considering inviting former presidents to attend the special FEC session to be held at the Council Chambers. But this is still an idea as at press time.
A close source to President Tinubu said as a mark of his respect to Buhari, the President approved that the VP takes the biggest of the Nigerian Presidential Fleet to fly to London yesterday to convey the body of the late immediate Past President.
Normally, that particular aircraft is always on standby to convey whoever is the sitting president. The VP takes a small presidential jet.
Also, President Bola Tinubu had already summoned an emergency session of the Federal Executive Council scheduled for Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in a UK hospital on Sunday.
Tinubu made the disclosure in a tribute he personally signed Sunday evening, shortly after news of Buhari’s passing broke.
This plan is now set to be amended.
The President has equally directed “that all national flags fly at half-staff across the country for seven days from today,” being yesterday, Sunday, July 13.
