The Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, is presently deserted following an outbreak of COVID-19 at Nigeria’s seat of power, with many aides testing positive to the virus.
Citing sources, SaharaReporters claims that the spread of COVID-19 infections at the Aso Villa was traced to the installation ceremony of Yusuf Buhari, the only son of President Muhammadu Buhari as a district head (Talban Daura) in Katsina.
It is understood that in the aftermath of the outbreak, Buhari is closely being monitored by health officials as most of those who contracted the virus are “too close to him”.
“In the meantime, the President’s planned visit to Katsina has been cancelled,” one source said.
Meanwhile, President Buhari and his wife, Aisha, did not witness the ceremony as they were in Istanbul attending the third Turkey-African Partnership Summit at the time.
“Aso Rock has now been deserted over the number of President Buhari’s aides that have contracted COVID-19. Currently, President Buhari is being monitored by health officials. Plans for the President to go to Katsina have been stepped down for now.
“The recent spread of the virus at the Aso Rock was traced to his son, Yusuf’s coronation ceremony in Katsina,” another source said, as per SR.
In the past few days, Nigeria has been reporting a steady increase in COVID-19 infections, as the fourth wave of the pandemic sweeps through the country.
Last Wednesday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) recorded 4,035 cases, the highest single-day count since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
On Friday, NCDC announced that 45 cases of the Omicron variant had been detected in the country.
