Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Malam Abba Kyari, who tested positive for coronavirus, is dead.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr Femi Adesina, in the early hours of Saturday said the Kyari died on Friday.

The terse statement reads:

“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.”

Buhari had appointed Kyari , who hailed from Borno state, as his chief of staff in 2015 and reappointed him in 2019.