Abba Kyari tests positive for coronavirus after foreign trip

Abba Kyari, chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, has tested positive for the coronavirus days after returning from an official trip to Germany and the UK, TheCable has learnt.

TheCable understands that he ran the test on Saturday based on medical advice, although he was not exhibiting any symptoms.

The result came back on Monday positive and he has gone into isolation even though the symptoms are yet to manifest, TheCable learnt.

Following his result, Buhari was also advised to run a test but he was negative, Aso Rock sources told TheCable.

Alongside Sale Mamman, minister of power, the chief of staff had attended a meeting in Germany with officials of Siemens to discuss issues relating to the Nigerian power sector.

A letter Kyari wrote to the leadership of the national assembly on how federal lawmakers returning from overseas trips were allegedly evading screening had gone viral earlier on Monday.

Nigeria currently has 40 cases of the coronavirus.

TheCable had reported about the anxiety at the presidential villa in Abuja over the self-isolation of Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi.

The governor went into self-isolation after shaking hands with Mohammed Atiku, one of the sons of Nigeria’s former vice-president, who tested positive for the virus.

The presidency is yet to comment on the COVID-19 status of Kyari and health authorities have also not spoken about it.

But on Monday night, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed a coronavirus case in Abuja.

It is unclear if it is the case of Kyari that the NCDC reported in the Tuesday morning bulletin.