Former President Muhammadu Buhari who died on Sunday in London would no longer be buried today in Daura as logistics arrangements to bring the body back home today have fallen through.
Informed sources in London told our reporter that the earliest opportunity for the flight to make it to Nigeria is late Tuesday 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 logistics challenges, the plan to bury Buhari in Daura today 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 plans and 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 that Tinubu, who had earlier planned a special Federal Executive Council meeting for Tuesday in honour of the late former president, 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 took the largest aircraft in 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.
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.
