The Nigerian president\u2019s influential chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Abba Kyari, who is in his 70s, is an important figure in President Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s government and his illness could have ramifications for the running of the country.<\/p>\n
His case was one of a growing number in Nigeria, Africa\u2019s most populous nation, with a state governor also testing positive and the Lagos state health commissioner warning that they were beginning to see the virus \u201cspread in the community\u201d.<\/p>\n
Previously, most cases were travellers who had recently returned from the United Kingdom or the United States.<\/p>\n
Kyari has a history of medical complications, including diabetes, and is the gatekeeper to the president. Many who wish to deal with Buhari must go through Kyari, including Nigeria\u2019s top politicians and businessmen.<\/p>\n
Matthew Page, an associate fellow with the Africa Programme at Chatham House, described Kyari as the \u201clynchpin\u201d of the Buhari government. \u201cThis has the potential to further slow down decision-making within top tiers of Nigerian government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kyari travelled to Germany in early March with a delegation of other Nigerian officials for meetings with engineering and industrial giant Siemens AG. It is unclear if he self-isolated upon his return to Nigeria. Germany has reported some 27,000 cases of coronavirus and 114 deaths from the pandemic.<\/p>\n
A presidency spokesman did not comment on whether Buhari has been tested. The president, 77, has undisclosed medical ailments and spent five months in London for treatments in 2017.<\/p>\n
Later on Tuesday, a Bauchi state government spokesman said Governor Bala Mohammed had also been diagnosed with coronavirus and was in quarantine.<\/p>\n
As of Tuesday, Nigeria had 42 confirmed cases of coronavirus, two of whom had recovered, and one death – a 67-year-old former oil official. It was unclear if Kyari or Mohammed\u2019s diagnoses were included in that total.<\/p>\n
The Nigeria Stock Exchange said its trading floors would close temporarily, only allowing remote trading.<\/p>\n
Lagos state Commissioner for Health Professor Akin Abayomi warned that hundreds of Africa\u2019s top film stars could have been exposed to coronavirus at the African Magic Viewers\u2019 Choice Award on March 14.<\/p>\n
Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced that all parks, gyms and public markets in the commercial capital, apart from those selling food, water, medicine or \u201cother essential life-saving products\u201d, would close on Thursday for at least seven days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Nigerian president\u2019s influential chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. Abba Kyari, who is in his 70s, is an important figure in President Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s government and his illness could have ramifications for the running of the country. His case was one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":9138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[713,97],"class_list":["post-23002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-abba-kyari","tag-buhari"],"yoast_head":"\n