By Obaike Odihue
“I’ve granted the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja the posthumous national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic of Niger CFR,” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said yesterday.
Tinubu conferred the honour at the interment of the late Army Chief in Abuja yesterday.
The late Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, was laid to rest on Friday in Abuja amid tears and tributes.
The internment marked an end to days of funeral rites that began in Lagos earlier in the week.
His body was lowered to Mother Earth at exactly 4:41 pm after the ceremony that lasted for over two hours.
Lagbaja died on Tuesday, November 5 after a period of illness.
In his remarks at the burial ceremony, Tinubu described the late COAS as a rare gem, and one who had given his all in the service to the nation.
The President also eulogised the late Army chief as one of Nigeria’s finest generals who served the nation with utmost dedication and ability.
Tinubu led some other prominent Nigerians to the Military Cemetery in Abuja, for the burial. They included
Vice President, Kashim Shettima, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and Secretary to the Government of the Federal (SGF), George Akume were among the hundreds of sympathisers who joined the President at the solemn ceremony to honour the late COAS.
The President said naming Lieutenant General Lagbaja as his Army Chief was his best appointment decision made so far in his Presidency.
“His legacy of service will be cherished forever as an eternal symbol of our appreciation.
According to him, Lagbaja was a trusted advisor whose formidable intellect and breadth of knowledge served the nation well, adding that, the late Army chief was also a man of prudent action who cared more for his nation “and for those who served under him than he ever did for himself, yet the hands of God works in his own sovereign way, the plans of God we cannot fully discern.”
Lamenting Lagbaj’s demise, President Tinubu said “at a time when a service to the nation could mean so much, God took him home to serve in a celestial army.”
Earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa and Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar made farewell remarks at the beginning of proceedings.
