Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, have arrived in London, the United Kingdom, to receive the body of the late President, Muhammadu Buhari, who passed on Sunday.
The vice president and the chief of staff led the Nigerian delegation to London early Monday.
The Nigerian delegation to the United Kingdom was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum; among others.
President Bola Tinubu had on Sunday directed Shettima and Gbajabiamila to lead the Nigerian delegation to receive the body of his predecessor for burial in Nigeria.
Buhari, whose ramrod-straight posture endeared him to many, died in London on Sunday at about 4.30 pm, following a prolonged illness, though the nature of the illness was not disclosed. Buhari had fallen ill in 2017 and was flown to the UK sometime early in May of that year and returned later in August of the same year.
Just last week, Buhari’s spokesman Garba Shehu told Channels Television that though the former president was hospitalised, “it was not as intense as reported. He was hospitalized, and now he is being cared for. He is in a recovery mode.”
“Each day, he gets better, but until it’s all over, you can’t say it is over. He looked much better after leaving the office than before he became president. He is 82, he eats healthy, and exercises regularly.”
Tinubu immediately ordered flags at half-staff as a mark of respect for the departed leader and offered his deep condolences to the family of the late president.
Condolences have since poured in from dignitaries across the country, many who described Buhari as a man of integrity.
Buhari, who hailed from Daura, Katsina State, in Nigeria’s North-West zone served as the country’s military head of state between January 1984 and August 1985.
