Abba Kyari, Chief of staff and one of the closest advisers to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, died on Friday after contracting the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
Abba Kyari death was officially anounced on saturday 18th April 2020 via the presidency twitter handle. His so far is one of the highest-profile casualty of the virus in Africa’s biggest economy.
Buhari named Kyari, a former chief executive officer of United Bank for Africa Plc, as his chief of staff in August 2015, and renewed his appointment after winning a second term in office. Behind the scenes, he was regarded as one of the powerful politicians in the country of more than 200 million people.
Kyari tested positive for the virus after returning from a trip to Germany, the presidency said in a statement.
Kyari who hails from northeastern state of Borno had worked at companies including Unilever Nigeria Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Nigerian unit, and held degrees from the University of Cambridge and University of Warwick in law and sociology.
May his soul RIP