COVID-19: There will be no Condolence visits for Abba Kyari – Presidency

• Abba Kyari Buried in Abuja
• He Never Sought ‘Cheap Gratification Of The Crowd’: Buhari Reacts To Abba Kyari’s Death
• Ganduje Fires Commissioner For ‘Unguarded Utterances’ About Kyari

The Presidency has announced that there will be no condolence visits to the family of the late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Abba Kyari.

The Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, said this in a series of tweets on Saturday, shortly after the remains of Mr Kyari arrived at the Defence House in Abuja for his burial.

“We just received the body of Abba Kyari, the deceased Chief of Staff the President in Abuja. In strict observation of the protocol put in place for the burial of Coronavirus victims by the NCDC, and the Federal Ministry of Health, the funeral prayer and burial will be private.

“Thereafter, there will be no such ceremonies as condolence visits.

“Well-meaning friends, family members and the general public are encouraged to pray for the repose of Abba Kyari’s soul,” Shehu wrote.

See more photos of him being laid to rest in Abuja, here

The news of Kyari’s death was announced by both Mr Garba and another presidential aide, Mr Femi Adesina, in the early hours of today.

According to them, he died on Friday, April the 17th.

Mr Kyari’s 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 eventually laid to rest at the Gudu Cemetery.

News that the Chief of Staff had tested positive for COVID-19 first broke on March 24, about 10 days after he returned from a trip to Germany during which he met with officials of Siemens in Munich on Nigeria’s electricity expansion programme.

He later confirmed the news himself, in a statement on March 29, the same day President Buhari made his first nationwide broadcast on the pandemic and announced a two-week lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In the statement, Mr Kyari revealed that he would be transferred to Lagos from the FCT for treatment and expressed the hope that he would recover and return to work soon.

At the time, Mr Kyari said he felt well and did not exhibit any signs of the disease, which has now infected 493 people in the country and claimed 17 lives, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

A Kanuri from Borno, Mr Kyari was one of President’s Buhari’s closest allies.

Appointed Chief of Staff in August 2015, he became considered one of the most influential and powerful members of the Buhari administration.

Prior to his foray into politics, Mr Kyari had a professional career as a lawyer and spent years in the banking industry, rising to become the Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) at some point.

Abba Kyari Buried in Abuja

The Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Abba Kyari, who died on Friday, April the 17th, has now been buried.

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.

The news of his death was announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in the early hours of today.

Another of the President’s spokespersons, Mr Garba Shehu, also tweeted about the development.

News that Mr Kyari had tested positive for COVID-19 first broke on March 24, about 10 days after he returned from a trip to Germany during which he met with officials of Siemens in Munich on Nigeria’s electricity expansion programme.

He later confirmed the news himself in a statement on March 29, the same day President Buhari made his first nationwide broadcast on the pandemic and announced a two-week lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In his statement, Mr Kyari revealed that he would be transferred to Lagos from the FCT for treatment and expressed the hope that he would recover and return to work soon.

At the time, he said he felt well and did not exhibit any signs of the disease, which has now infected 493 people in the country and claimed 17 lives, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

A Kanuri from Borno, Mr Kyari was one of President’s Buhari’s closest allies.

Appointed Chief of Staff in August 2015, he became considered one of the most influential and powerful members of the Buhari administration.

Prior to his foray into politics, Mr Kyari had a professional career as a lawyer and spent years in the banking industry, rising to become the Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) at some point.

He Never Sought ‘Cheap Gratification Of The Crowd’: Buhari Reacts To Abba Kyari’s Death

President Muhammadu Buhari has responded to the demise of his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.

The President, in a series of tweets posted on Saturday, said contrary to reports Abba Kyari was secretive, he simply “had no need, nor did he seek, the cheap gratification of the crowd.”

Buhari described Kyari as “my loyal friend and compatriot for the last 42 years” who never “wavered in his commitment to the betterment of every one of us.”

Kyari’s death was announced early Saturday, more than two weeks after he tested positive for COVID-19.

In accordance with Muslim rites, he was buried later on Saturday.

Meeting Kyari

“He was only in his twenties when we first met,” Buhari said. “A diligent student, soon after he was blessed with the opportunity to study abroad – first at Warwick and then law at the University of Cambridge.

“But there was never any question Abba would bring his first-rate skills and newly acquired world-class knowledge back to Nigeria – which he did – immediately upon graduation.

“Whilst possessing the sharpest legal and organisational mind, Abba’s true focus was always the development of infrastructure and the assurance of security for the people of this nation he served so faithfully.

“For he knew that without both in tandem there can never be the development of the respectful society and vibrant economy that all Nigerian citizens deserve.”

Becoming Chief of Staff

Buhari said Kyari never had the ambition to seek “elective office for himself” but was determined in setting himself “against the view and conduct of two generations of Nigeria’s political establishment – who saw corruption as an entitlement and its practice a byproduct of possessing political office.”

In 2015, Kyari became Buhari’s Chief of Staff.

“He strove quietly and without any interest in publicity or personal gain to implement my agenda,” Buhari said.

“There are those who said of him that he must be secretive – because he did not have a high public profile. But Abba was the opposite: he simply had no need, nor did he seek, the cheap gratification of the crowd; for him, there was nothing to be found in popular adulation.

“He secured instead satisfaction and his reward solely and only from the improvement of the governance of this great country.

“Working, without fail, seven days each and every week, he acted forcefully as a crucial gatekeeper to the presidency, ensuring no one – whether minister or governor had access beyond another – and that all those representing and serving our country were treated equally.

“He made clear in his person and his practice, always, that every Nigerian – regardless of faith, family, fortune or frailty – was heard and treated respectfully and the same.

“Mallam Abba Kyari was the very best of us. He was made of the stuff that makes Nigeria great. Rest In Peace, my dearest friend.

“To his loving wife and doting family who survive him, I extend my heartfelt sorrow at your loss.”

Ganduje Fires Commissioner For ‘Unguarded Utterances’ About Kyari

The Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has relieved the appointment of the Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Mu’azu Magaji with immediate effect.

According to a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, the commissioner was removed following his unguarded utterances against the person of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari.

He said as a public servant, the commissioner ought to have respect for the office by refraining from any act capable of rendering it to disrepute.

“The action of a public servant, personal or otherwise reflects back on the government and therefore, the Ganduje administration would not tolerate people in official capacities engaging in personal vendetta or otherwise,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the state government eulogised Kyari, stressing that he led a life worthy of emulation by serving his country to the best of his ability.

News that Mr Kyari had tested positive for COVID-19 first broke on March 24, about 10 days after he returned from a trip to Germany during which he met with officials of Siemens in Munich on Nigeria’s electricity expansion programme.

He confirmed the news himself in a statement on March 29, the same day President Buhari made his first nationwide broadcast on the pandemic and announced a two-week lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In the statement, Mr Kyari revealed that he would be transferred to Lagos from the FCT for treatment and expressed the hope that he would recover and return to work soon.

But nearly a month after, he lost the battle with the disease as aides to the president announced that he died on Friday, April the 17th, 2020.

Channeltv