President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will today (Tuesday) lead a high-level Federal Government delegation to the burial ceremony of late Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, and is expected to receive the remains of the deceased former President of Nigeria at the Katsina Airport later in the day.
Buhari will be buried today at his home in Daura, Katsina State and ahead of that, the President constituted an inter-ministerial committee for a state burial for Buhari, who died in London on Sunday at the age of 82.
The inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, is tasked with the responsibility of planning and coordinating a befitting state burial for the late elder statesman today.
It has as members the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and his counterparts from the ministries of Budget and Economic Planning, Defence, Information and National Orientation, Works, Interior, FCT, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Social Welfare and Art, Culture and Creative Economy.
Other members of the committee included the National Security Adviser, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political and Other Matters, the Inspector General of Police, the Director-General Department of State Services (DSS) and the Chief of Defence Staff.
The Office of the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office (GSO), will serve as the Secretariat to the Committee.
The statement added that in honour of the departed former president, President Tinubu had also directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to open condolence registers at the entrance of their respective offices for the public to pay their respects to the late elder statesman.
It stated that a central condolence register for the diplomatic community and the general public would be opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.
In a related development, President Bola Tinubu has directed 25 members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to proceed to Katsina to participate in the full schedule of the burial rites for the late President Muhammadu Buhari in addition to the third-day prayers in Daura on Wednesday, July, 16, 2025.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this while briefing the media on the outcomes and the national programme of events planned by the federal government for Buhari.
Idris also reiterated the constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Committee by the President, headed by Akume, to oversee the State Burial, in collaboration with the Katsina State Government and the family of the former President.
He stated that the Special FEC Meeting, earlier scheduled for Tuesday, July 15, 2025, had been rescheduled to Friday, July 18, July 2025. He said as the country prepared to bid farewell to one of Nigeria’s foremost statesmen, the federal government urged all Nigerians to join in prayers and reflection for the repose of the soul of the former President.
“His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has declared seven days of National Mourning which commenced on Sunday, 13th July 2025. During this period, the National Flag will fly at half-mast across the country. All state governments and the private sector are hereby directed to comply accordingly. In addition, the president has declared tomorrow, Tuesday, a Public Holiday,” Idris said.
He added that a high-level federal government delegation, led by the Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima, was currently in London to conclude documentation and logistical arrangements for the repatriation of the former President’s remains.
Idris said the remains of the former president were expected to arrive in Katsina by noon, today, while upon arrival in Katsina, a brief military ceremony would be held at the airport ahead of the Jana’iza in Daura.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, will personally receive the remains of the former President in Katsina. The remains will thereafter proceed to Daura, where the Jana’iza (funeral prayer) will take place, followed by interment at the late President’s residence.
“The President has directed that Condolence Registers be opened in all Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. Additional registers will be opened at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, as well as at Nigerian Embassies and Missions abroad,” he said.
The minister explained further that President Tinubu has continued to receive messages of sympathy from Heads of State and Governments around the world, reflecting the global stature and legacy of the late President Buhari.
