President Buhari will not attend Mugabe's funeral

President Muhammadu Buhari will not attend the state funeral for former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe but will be represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement in Abuja, said the vice president would depart for Harare, Zimbabwe, on Friday for the state funeral scheduled for September 14.

Osinbajo will be joining other African leaders and Heads of State expected at the occasion scheduled for the country’s National Stadium in Harare.

Heads of State expected to attend the funeral include President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.

Mugabe, who was Zimbabwean Prime Minister and later President for 37 years altogether, up until 2017, died on Sept. 6, at the age of 95 in a Singaporean Hospital.

The vice president, who will be accompanied on the trip by senior government officials, is expected back in Nigeria on Saturday.