Lagos - The Nigerian president's chief
of staff, Abba Kyari, died on Friday after contracting the new
coronavirus, two presidency spokesmen said on Twitter.
Kyari, who was in his 70s and had underlying health problems
including diabetes, was the top official aide to 77-year-old
President Muhammadu Buhari and one of the most powerful men in
the country.
"The Presidency regrets to announce the passage of the Chief
of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari," said presidency
spokesman Garba Shehu in a tweet, using an honorific title for
Kyari.
"The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19,
and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April
17, 2020," he said in a second post on Twitter.
Spokesman Femi Adesina also confirmed the death.
Kyari's was the highest profile death due to the disease in
the West African country, which has 493 confirmed cases and 17
deaths, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
Kyari acted as the gatekeeper to Buhari. He travelled to
Germany in early March with a delegation of other Nigerian
officials for meetings with Siemens AG. He attended
meetings with senior government officials upon his return to
Nigeria.
Reuters reported on March 24 that Kyari had contracted the
highly infectious disease.
Buhari himself has undisclosed medical ailments and spent
five months in London for treatments in 2017.