Coronavirus: disappearance of the chief of staff to President Buhari

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Abba Kyari, chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, was buried in Gudu this Saturday, April 18, in a military cemetery in the suburbs of Abuja. Twenty-five days after being found positive for the coronavirus test, he died on Friday in a private hospital in Lagos.

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A key man in the administration of the Nigerian head of state, Abba Kyary was 67 years old. He was known to have a medical history. His disappearance leaves a big void as he was omnipresent and essential in the entourage of President Buhari.

Chef de cabinet, since August 2015, Abba Kyari was the essential behind the scenes of the Presidential Palace. During the first mandate, he discreetly oversaw the implementation of the majority's campaign program.

In 2019, the re-election of Buhari amplified the power of Abba Kyari. All requests to the Nigerian president pass through his office first. The ministers but also the heads of the security services and the army had to bow to this circuit. Not a single decision by the Nigerian head of state was taken without the approval of the chief of staff.

Thin glasses and invariably wearing a small red foam hat, Abba Kyari was from Borno state, in northeast Nigeria. A law graduate from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, he had pursued a career mainly in the business and banking world.

President Buhari paid tribute to his "  faithful friend and compatriot for the past 42 years " in a series of tweets.

My loyal friend and compatriot for the last 42 years - and latterly my Chief-of-Staff - he never wavered in his commitment to the betterment of every one of us.

“  Mallam Abba Kyari was the best of us. It was made of what makes Nigeria great. Rest in peace, my dear friend,  "wrote President Buhari in particular.

The former Nigerian head of state, Goodluck Jonathan, as well as the entire Nigerian political class paid tribute to Abba Kyari, upon the announcement of his disappearance.

On Nigerian social media, many Nigerians regretted "  the tragic refusal of Abba Kyari, with fragile health, to submit to control and quarantine, after a trip to Europe, last March  ". On the return from a Germany already hit by Covid-19, Buhari's chief of staff had then attended official events, shaking hands publicly.

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• Nigeria
• Coronavirus