President Muhammadu Buhari pays his last respects to the
remains of former President Mathew Kerekou, during the late leader’s funeral
service at the Friendship Stadium in Cotonou, Benin Republic yesterday.
Buhari said yesterday in Cotonou that the late President,
Mathieu Kerekou of Benin Republic would be long remembered as the father of his
nation and founding father of ECOWAS.
Presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina, in a statement
yesterday said Buhari who was speaking on behalf of other African leaders at
the funeral rites of the late president began with tributes in his honour at
the Stade de L’amitie.
Buhari who was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister
Geoffrey Onyeama, described Kerekou as a beloved leader of his people and
ardent advocate of international cooperation that would be greatly missed
within and outside Benin Republic.
President Buhari said: “We recall that in pursuance of
his commitment to peace, stability and progress in his country, General Kerekou
voluntarily established the political framework for the return of Benin
Republic to democratic governance in the 1990s.
“His two democratic mandates from1996 to 2006 underscored
the ardent love his people had for him as a great leader and that period
witnessed great democratic freedom that continues to exist today, as the
foundation for lasting peace and stability in Benin Republic.”
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