18/07/2025
Press Statement from the Office of the Speaker, House of Representatives
July 17, 2025
What Buhari told me after I became Speaker – Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., GCON, has disclosed what the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, told him after he became Speaker of the 10th House.
In his tribute at a special expanded Federal Executive Council session in honour of ex-President Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, Speaker Abbas recalled how, in 2011, he was first elected to represent Zaria Federal Constituency at the House on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a party founded by Buhari.
He said that after his re-election for a fourth time and emergence as Speaker of the House on June 13, 2023, ex-President Buhari gave him a piece of advice.
Speaker Abbas said: “President Buhari was no ordinary figure in our national journey. He embodied quiet strength, moral clarity, and an unshakable sense of duty. At a time when society was seduced by materialism, he chose a life of modest means and meaningful service. He was devoted to family and steadfast in his Islamic faith. His humour and humility softened his disciplined exterior.
“Buhari’s belief in the brevity of life and the certainty of judgment shaped his ascetic lifestyle and guided his public conduct. He lived not for applause or affluence but for principle, for country, and for the cause of a better Nigeria.
“To me, he was more than a leader. He was a mentor, a moral compass, and a source of guidance. My political journey began in 2011, under the banner of the Congress for Progressive Change, a party built on his credibility and character.
“A few years after my election, he honoured me by commissioning some of my constituency projects, making me the first member of the House of Representatives under the CPC to receive such recognition. I remember him in the blazing sun of Zaria, standing shoul