Buhari's chief of staff Abba Kyari tests positive for coronavirus after returning from Egypt and Germany

MALLAM Abba Kyari the chief of staff to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus after he fell ill upon his return from a recent foreign trip and has subsequently been placed in isolation.

This week, Mallam Kyari returned to Nigeria after visiting Germany and Egypt where it is believed to have contracted the virus. Egypt has 327 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 14 deaths while Germany has 29,056 infections and 123 deaths.

Since his return, Mallam Kyari is said to have been attending meetings with President Buhari, vice president Yemi Osinbajo and other members of the Federal Executive Council. Also, executive chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Professor James Momoh, was said to have accompanied Mallam Kyari on the trip to both countries.

President Buhari is said to have tested negative for coronavirus and so far no other member of the government has been found to be positive. Just yesterday, Mallam Kyari told Nigerian legislators, who recently returned from foreign trips, to submit themselves for coronavirus testing.

Also, Aisha, President Buhari's wife disclosed that one of her daughters was in self-isolation after returning from the UK, one of the high risk countries for the virus. Zahra Buhari was placed in isolation for two weeks after arriving from the UK.

Yesterday, Nigeria confirmed its first coronavirus death after Suleiman Achimugu, a former managing director of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, succumbed to the virus in Abuja. According to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, there has been a total of 36 confirmed cases but with Mallam Kyari's suspected infection, that figure may have now risen to 37.