By Idowu Abdullahi,
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has commiserated with President Muhammadu Buhari, and the family of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, over the demise of their patriarch, whom he described as an accomplished technocrat and politician.
He explained that until his death, Kyari deployed his skills to the service of the President and Nigeria as a whole, adding that the late Chief of Staff influence in government and other private sectors where he worked was substantial and profound.
Tinubu, who sent his condolence message through a statement released to newsmen on Saturday in Lagos, described Kyari as a man of accomplishment and expressed his belief that his death should not be in vain.
“I’m deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Malam Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President. He was an extremely able, loyal and talented man who dedicated his considerable skills to the success of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari,”
“Whatever someone will try to say about Mallam Kyari, the words will prove insufficient. His influence in government and throughout the land was substantial and profound. He will surely be missed. My deepest condolences go to President Buhari, the people of Nigeria and especially the family of Mallam Kyari over this tragic loss. May Almighty Allah comforts the president and the Kyari family at this difficult moment. I pray that Allah Subuhana Watahalah grants the soul of our beloved Mallam Kyari eternal rest and admit him to Aljana Firdaus”, he said.
He urged Nigerians to let the sad departure of the Chief of Staff spur the country into a collective resolve of defeating the deadly coronavirus within its borders.
Tinubu expressed optimism that the Presidential aide’s death, though saddening, would serve as an eye-opener for some Nigerians who believe that the virus was a hoax created by government to loot the country’s commonwealth, and that it would also redirect peoples’ attention towards abiding by the preventive directives by government.
He urged the apex government to double its efforts in flattening curve of the pandemic in the country, adding that such moment of national mourning occasioned by the death of Kyari must encourage all relevant stakeholders to do all in their capacity to defeat the virus and safeguard health of the nation.
“This death came at a time the government is working assiduously to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. We must not allow the passing away of Mallam Kyari and the other Nigerians who have lost their lives to this terrible disease to be in vain. Although we are today made sad, we must also use this moment to strengthen our resolve in fighting the pandemic.
“Let us rededicate ourselves to obeying the public health measures such as physical distancing so that we may defeat the contagion and not fall to it. While we must maintain spatial distance from one another we must yet come closer in the spirit of brotherly compassion and national purpose in order to defeat the threat we now face,” the statement added.
