Ex-President Shehu Shagari for burial today at 2pm

Former President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, who died Friday, will be buried today in Sokoto, according to the family.

His grandson, Nuradeen Mahe, told newsmen in Sokoto that the late President would be flown from Abuja to Sokoto for burial on Saturday, in accordance with Islamic rites.

Shagari, who was 93, died at 6:40 p.m. at the National Hospital in Abuja.

Mahe said he was flown to Abuja after his health deteriorated.

Shagari was president 1979 to 1983 and won re-election before being dethroned by a coup d’etat that brought in Muhammadu Buhari as military Head of State.

The former leader was born February 25, 1925 in Shagari, in Sokoto. After his early education, he worked as a teacher for a brief period before entering politics in 1951.

In 1954, he was elected to the federal House of Representatives.

He served seven times in a ministerial or cabinet post as a federal minister and federal commissioner from 1958–1975, before he was elected president in 1979.
He won a disputed re-election in 1983 that accelerated a military coup three months later after he was sworn in and the economy was on a precipitous decline. (NAN)