Covid-19 hits Presidency, kills Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari

The Presidency on Saturday announced the passage of Mallam Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

He died of coronavirus and was receiving treatment at a private hospital in Lagos for the disease.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, confirmed this development in a statement in Abuja.

”The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19, and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April 17, 2020.

”May God accept his soul.

”Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly,” the statement said.

Kyari had on March 29 issued a statement on his decision to move to Lagos for “further test and observation.”

In his statement, he said; “I have made my own care arrangements to avoid further burdening the public health system, which faces so many pressures.”

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“This is a precautionary measure: I feel well, but last week I tested positive for Coronavirus, the pandemic that is sweeping the world. I have followed all protocols the government has announced to self-isolate and quarantine,” he said.

Kyari’s death is believed to be among the four new deaths announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) late on Friday.

President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Kyari, who hailed from Borno State, as his chief of staff in 2015 and reappointed him in 2019.