President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio has paid glowing tribute to former President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as a spartan leader who never embezzled public funds.
Akpabio stated this at an expanded Federal Executive Council (FEC) session held in honour of Buhari at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday.
He said Buhari’s enduring legacy lay in integrity, not extravagance and in devotion to nation building rather than personal gain.
Akpabio, who served as a minister under Buhari, noted that even Buhari’s fiercest critics respected his forthrightness.
”President Buhari believed that discipline mattered. That integrity mattered. That leadership, even when lonely, must be anchored in something greater than power.”
”He did not seek to ride waves of popular acclaim; he walked, with steadiness and often in solitude, along the ridge of national conscience.”
”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.”
”His toughness was born not of pride, but of patriotism, a fierce, unrelenting belief that Nigeria, with all its challenges, was still worth fighting for.”
Akpabio hailed Buhari’s lifelong commitment to Nigeria, both as a soldier and civilian leader.
”Whether in khaki or agbada, he remained firm in his belief that Nigeria was worth fighting for,” Akpabio said.
