Senate President Godswill Akpabio has come under fire for a major blunder during a public speech in which he mistakenly said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had been “honoured and buried”—a statement that caused confusion and concern among Nigerians.
In the now-viral clip, Akpabio praised the current administration for its performance but made a shocking gaffe, mistakenly mentioning President Tinubu instead of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari
He said:
“And the whole country is very proud of what this administration has done, in the way and manner President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was honoured and buried.”
The statement immediately sparked outrage on social media, with many Nigerians expressing shock and demanding clarification.
The Senate President has not officially corrected or addressed the blunder, which appeared to be a slip of the tongue. However, critics have called the error insensitive and careless, especially given the weight of such words coming from the country’s third-highest political officeholder.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is alive and currently serving his first term in office, having assumed power in May 2023 after winning the 2023 general elections under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This is not the first time a Nigerian public official has made a high-profile verbal error, but given Akpabio’s position, the mistake has attracted significant public attention and criticism.