Prominent Nigerian leaders, including former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan; former Heads of State and retired generals Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar have paid tributes to the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari.
Kyari died of COVID-19 in Lagos on Friday.
According to the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, the Chief of Staff died at First Cardiology Consultants, Ikoyi.
Kyari had tested positive for the coronavirus on March 24 some days after travelling to Germany, an epicentre of the virus in Europe, to meet with officials of Siemens AG on the improvement of power supply in Nigeria.
In a letter on March 29, Kyari said he was conveyed to Lagos on an air ambulance to do additional tests and observation, adding that he made his personal care arrangements to avoid further burdening the public health system.
He had expressed the hope of recovering soon and returning to work as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, he died due to complications from COVID-19 while his remains were brought in an ambulance to the Defence House in Abuja, where family members, as well as his colleagues, gathered to pay their last respect.
He was laid to rest at the Gudu Cemetery in Abuja.
Reacting to Kyari’s death, Obasanjo, in a condolence letter to Buhari, said the President should take solace in the fact that the Chief of Staff “died in service of his country.”
“His death must be a solemn reminder to all of us that COVID-19 requires all hands on deck…to be able to fight it successfully and to get all Nigerians back to good health and healthy economy,” Obasanjo added.
Also, Jonathan, via his personal Twitter handle @GEJonathan on Saturday, expressed grief over Kyari’s death.
“I condole with H.E. @MBuhari, the Kyari family & all sympathisers on the demise of Mallam Abba Kyari, who until his death, was the Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria. May Allah grant him Al Jannah Firdaus & strengthen his family & friends during this moment of grief,” he wrote.
In a statement on Saturday, Atiku expressed sadness over Kyari’s death, saying “the death of the Chief of Staff should galvanise Nigerians to support the efforts to contain this deadly virus.”
Similarly, Gowon and Abdulsalami mourned Kyari’s death, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
“He (Buhari) received calls of condolences from two former Nigerian Heads of State, Generals Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari received calls of condolences from African leaders such as President Nana Akufo-Ado of Ghana, President Muhammadou Youssoufou of the Niger Republic and a former President of Benin Republic, Boni Yayi.
“President Buhari also received similar messages of condolence from the embassies of friendly countries, including Egypt, Chad and Liberia,” the Presidency’s statement read.
