| LATE MATHIEU KEREKOU OF BENIN REPUBLIC |
| PRESIDENT BUHARI LAYS HIS WREATH |
 |
| PRESIDENT BUHARI BEING WELCOMED |
| PRESIDENT BUHARI WITH OTHER PRESIDENTS |
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu
Buhari on Thursday attended the burial of the late President Mathieu Kerekou, 82, of
Benin Republic in Cotonou, where he said Kerekou would be long remembered and
honoured as "a father of his nation and founding father of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS)".
Speaking at the official funeral
rites of the late Kerekou, President Buhari said "On behalf of my
colleagues, fellow presidents and leaders of our continent of Africa, I rise
today, to speak in honour of a departed African statesman, a father of his
nation, indeed a founding father of ECOWAS. He also described him as a beloved
leader of his people and an ardent advocate of international cooperation who
would be greatly missed within and outside Benin Republic.
He recalled that the late
President’s two democratic mandates from 1996 to 2006 underscored the ardent
love his people had for him as a great leader and noted that the period witnessed
great democratic freedom which had continued to exist, as the foundation for
lasting peace and stability in Benin Republic.
President Buhari admonished the
late President’s widow, Mrs. Margaret Kerekou, members of his family, President
Boni Yayi and the people of Benin Republic to be consoled in the knowledge that
General Kerekou had lived a much fulfilled life in the service of his country
and he had gone to take a well-deserved rest from his earthly labors.
Presidents Faure Gnassinbe of Togo
and Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic also attended the funeral and they were all hosted by President Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin Republic.
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