MALLAM Abba Kyari,the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari ,died yesterday, 26 days after testing positive to the coronavirus.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr.Femi Adesina, broke the news on his Twitter handle at 12.44am.
He followed this up with a statement, saying: “The Presidency regrets to announce the passage of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari.
“The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19, and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April 17, 2020.
“May God accept his soul.
“Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.”
Mallam Kyari had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 23,2020 following an official trip to Germany nine days earlier.
There were, however, no immediate details about where he died.
According to Wikipedia, Kyari graduated from the University of Warwick, UK, with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1980.
He also received a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Cambridge and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1983 after attending the Nigerian Law School.
In 1984, he obtained a master’s degree in Law from the University of Cambridge. He later attended the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and participated in the Programme for Management Development at the Harvard Business School, in 1992 and 1994, respectively.
He was at various times Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in Borno State, secretary to the board of African International Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of Credit and Commerce International, executive director in charge of management services at the United Bank for Africa, and later appointed the bank’s chief executive officer.
In 2002, he was appointed a board director of Unilever Nigeria, and later served on the board of Exxon Mobil Nigeria.
He was named Chief of Staff to the President in 2015 and was reappointed to the position after Buhari’s re-election for a second term in 2019.

By Bolaji Ogundele