“I thought he was a religious fundamentalist until I came close. After our campaign flag-off in Kaduna, we returned to his residence.

"He staggered a bit and said, ‘Jesus Christ of Nazareth’. I asked, ‘General, what is that?’ and he replied, ‘You don’t have the monopoly of Jesus Christ; I’m thanking God,” Bakare recalled.

Bakare, who also contested the APC presidential ticket in 2023, further stated that several members of Buhari’s close staff, including his driver and bodyguards, were Christians.

“He just said that, and then I found out that his bodyguards were all Christians. Not only that, his driver of 10 years asked me to pray with him. I told him I don’t do Islamic prayers and he said, ‘I’m a Christian, sir’,” he added.

The remarks come in the wake of Buhari’s confirmed death on Sunday at a private clinic in London. for an undisclosed illness.

His remains are expected to arrive in Nigeria shortly, Daura, Katsina State.

A delegation of top Nigerian officials has already departed for London to retrieve his body.