Chief John Odigie,(Up), Pastor Ighadalo and President Paul Biya (Right)
PRESIDENT Paul Biya of Cameroon has condoled with President Buhari on the death of his Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari who was laid to rest on Saturday.
In a message, Biya, expressed sympathy to President Buhari and also the Kyari family and prayed God to grant the soul of the deceased Chief of Staff eternal rest.
”I can feel your pains, following the death of your close collaborator”, Biya wrote in a letter of condolence to President Buhari.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Similarly, the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun prayed God Almighty to fill the void the absence of the deceased has created.
Oyegun also commiserated with the Kyari family and the people of Borno, Oyegun noteding that the death of the Chief of Staff came as a shock to him adding that he had good rapport with Abba Kyari when he was the APC chairman.
”However as a people of faith, we cannot question the will of God,’’ he said in a letter of condolence to the President.
“When I had the privilege of being National Chairman of APC, my interactions with him were always pleasant and productive experiences”, Oyegun expressed.
According to Buhari’s spokesperson, the President also received condolence messages from the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the country through the High Commissioner of Cameroon to Nigeria; Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK, Justice George Oguntade (Rtd); United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Nigeria Dr. Fahad Altaffaq; the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria; the Association of Motor Dealers in Nigeria; Tiv paramount ruler, Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty, Orchivirigh Prof. James Ortese Ayatse; Alh Mustapha Ado Ammasco, the CEO of Ammasco International Limited; former Senate leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba; Urohobo Progressive Union and former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi.
Cameroon’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Salaheddine Abbas Ibrahima, in the letter of condolence on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps, described Kyari as a patriotic Nigerian who dedicated himself to the implementation of the objectives of this administration with a total sense of loyalty.
‘‘Far beyond the official and formal relations with the Diplomatic Corps, he also entertained very cordial and personal relations with us, which made it very useful for the fruitful relations between Nigeria and our respective countries, ’’ High Commissioner Ibrahima wrote.
Furthermore, the National Secretary, St Paul’s (Zaria) Old Boys Association (SPOBA) Idris Mohammed Faruk Jnr, extoled their late old boy as a ”perspicacious technocrat.”
”Kyari was consistently close to his classmates even on their social
media platform days before his major health challenge, and belonged to the St
Paul’s Old Boys Association (SPOBA).
”As Alumni of Kyari’s former college we are proud that he represented us well at every opportunity he had, showing the values of a true Pauline – generous, loyal, friendly, intellectually driven, dedicated to service and committed to the vision of developing Nigeria into a great country,” SPOBA secretariat wrote in a condolence message to the President.
Also, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Senior Pastor, Trinity House, in a letter of condolence to the President described the death of Kyari as saddening, noting how strategic he was to the administration.
‘‘A true gate-keeper he was in every sense of it, a loyal and committed friend, erudite and professional, his diligence, hard work and resilience will be sorely missed,’’ Ighodalo stated.