Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu honoured the late President Muhammadu Buhari in a way Buhari never honoured anyone while he was alive.
President Tinubu declared a public holiday on the day of Buhari’s burial, personally attended the funeral, met with his family, and renamed a federal university in his honour, actions that Sani described as “unprecedented and deserving of acknowledgment.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sani listed the various gestures Tinubu made to honour his predecessor:
“The President physically attended the burial of Buhari, met with his family, declared a public holiday, held a FEC meeting in his honor and renamed a university to immortalise him.
Something even the late President never did to others. And yet they said he is ‘exploiting the death of Buhari’.”
“What would they have said if he had done none of the above? Politics is something else,”
the senator tweeted.
Sani’s comment has since drawn significant reactions online, with the post garnering over 1,000 likes at the time of this report.
His remarks come in the midst of increasing political debate over how the Tinubu administration has handled Buhari’s passing.
Some opposition groups, particularly the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have accused the government of using the former president’s death as a tool to gain political mileage.
Responding to these allegations, Mr Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, dismissed the ADC’s claims as baseless and politically motivated.
“Their latest press release alleging that President Tinubu’s government is ‘exploiting’ the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political gain is not only dishonest.
It is an insult to millions of Nigerians who genuinely mourned the loss of a statesman, and who watched the State Burial accorded Buhari with solemn respect and dignity,”
Dare said.
He also condemned what he called hypocrisy by the ADC, noting:
“It was ironic that the same group accusing the President of politicising Buhari’s death was the one ‘dancing on his grave’ for public attention.”
Dare further explained that Buhari’s burial was handled with the dignity it deserved:
“The burial was conducted with complete honour befitting a former leader, with dignitaries from across the world in attendance, and millions of citizens following the events across media platforms.”
He concluded by defending Tinubu’s intentions:
“President Tinubu is not seeking cheap popularity but allowing his growing list of achievements to speak louder than the noisy irrelevance of groups like the ADC.”
