Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Thursday paid tribute to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as a man of discipline and integrity who left a lasting imprint on Nigeria’s leadership.
Speaking during the special session of the Expanded Federal Executive Council meeting held in Buhari’s honour, Akpabio said the former president may not have been perfect, but he stood firmly for discipline, honour and patriotism.
“President Buhari did not merely pass through the corridors of power. He left his boots and his imprints in them. Buhari was not perfect. No leader is. But he was principled. He stood for something.
‘In a world where it is easy to chase headlines, he chose instead to chase honour. Where others sought glory, he sought duty,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President, who once served as a minister under Buhari’s administration, described the late leader as austere and unflamboyant, yet driven by a deep sense of duty and patriotism.
Akpabio said, “As a minister in his cabinet, appointed by him, I saw President Buhari unplugged. He was not flamboyant—far from it. His voice was measured. His steps, deliberate. His public demeanour, austere.
“But beneath that calm exterior beat the heart of a patriot—unyielding, unbending, and utterly uninterested in personal comfort when duty called.”
He added that Buhari’s legacy was not only in his achievements but also in the moral standard he upheld in governance.
“He believed that discipline mattered. That integrity mattered. That leadership, even when lonely, must be anchored in something greater than power,” he stated.
Akpabio acknowledged that Buhari’s style may have attracted criticism but maintained that even his critics could not question his moral uprightness.
He said, “Let us be honest—he was tough. He was a soldier who did not flinch under fire, a leader who did not flee from responsibility, and above all, a Nigerian whose loyalty to this nation was never up for sale.
“And yes, some disagreed with him. That is the nature of democracy. But even his fiercest critics will admit: he did not pilfer the nation’s purse, nor pander to its pleasures. He remained, to the very end, a sentinel of Spartan simplicity and austere integrity.”
Akpabio concluded that Buhari’s name would be remembered in history not for flamboyance or fanfare, but for his resolute commitment to national duty.
“Let it be said by generations to come, that a man once walked this land with a firm gait, a steady gaze, and an iron sense of duty. His name was Muhammadu Buhari,” he stated. (Punch)
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