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Plane Crash: Buhari's Aides, Garba Shehu, Onochie Clash Over Why President Was Absent At Military Officers' Funeral

Shehu on a programme on Arise TV, said Buhari's dislike for the closure of roads could be responsible for his absence at the funeral.

The presidency has said President Muhammadu Buhari's absence at the funeral of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other military officers who died in a plane crash, may be connected to his dislike for having roads closed for him.

They were buried on Saturday at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja.

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Buhari's spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu on Wednesday said it could be because Buhari does not like the “idea of closing roads, security men molesting people on the road” when he is outside the Presidential Villa. 

Many Nigerians have condemned the President and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for failing to attend the funeral of the top military chiefs, saying it could affect the morale of other officers fighting insurgency. 

But Shehu on a programme on Arise TV, said Buhari's dislike for the closure of roads could be responsible for his absence at the funeral. 

He said: “I was in Europe myself on assignment and I have not spoken to the president on this but let me give you just one example: The president is somebody who is so concerned about the safety and well-being of ordinary Nigerians on the streets.

“Do you know why he now prays his Jumaat in the State House and doesn’t go to the national mosque? Because he doesn’t like this idea of closing roads, security men molesting people on the road for the president to have the right of way.

“These are small things for many people but they are important for President Muhammadu Buhari. So, it is a mourning situation and the president didn’t want to take away attention from that."

Shehu's comments however contradict the reasons given by another presidential aide for the President's absence at the funeral. 

Lauretta Onochie, a media aide to President Buhari, in a tweet on Monday, said, ''WHY PRES @MBuhari DID NOT ATTEND THE FUNERAL FOR OUR LATE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF AND THE OTHER HEROES WHO DIED IN AN AIRCRASH. For a Nigerian President to be at any funeral or event outside the Villa, the event must have at least 48 hours.”

It was however reported that Buhari spoke to Attahiru's widow, Fati, on the phone and others who lost loved ones in the crash.