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By Oscar Okhifo
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially renamed the University of Maiduguri as Muhammadu Buhari University in honour of the late former President, Muhammadu Buhari.
The announcement was made on Thursday, July 17, during a special session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The special FEC meeting, presided over by President Tinubu, was convened to pay tribute to Buhari, who died on Saturday, July 13, in London, aged 82.
Tinubu, in his remarks, described Buhari as a man of unwavering integrity, discipline, and patriotism. He said renaming the institution was a symbolic gesture to immortalize the values the former president stood for and to acknowledge his service to the nation.
“President Buhari lived a life of sacrifice, guided by moral fortitude and love for Nigeria. It is only fitting that a university in a region he served and impacted significantly bears his name,” Tinubu stated.
Located in Borno State, the University of Maiduguri played a strategic role in Buhari’s administration, particularly in the North-East’s recovery efforts during the insurgency. The renaming is seen as a move to further cement Buhari’s legacy in the region and in the country’s educational sector.
The Ministry of Education is expected to oversee the implementation of the name change, which includes updating institutional documents, signage, and all official records to reflect the new name, Muhammadu Buhari University Maiduguri.
Thursday’s FEC session was attended by top government officials and ministers, some of whom offered tributes to Buhari’s leadership and contributions to national development.
This development comes amid a wave of memorials and acknowledgments following the former president’s demise , as the nation continues to mourn one of its most prominent leaders.