BEVERLY HILLS, April 21, (THEWILL) – The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, has apologised over violations that took place during the burial of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, in Abuja on Saturday.
Kyari, one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s closest allies, had died on Friday after battling COVID-19 for more than two weeks. He was 67.
Many people turned out for the burial of the late Kyari on Saturday, milling together for prayers and at his graveside which sparked outrage among Nigerians as several guidelines put in place by the government to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic were violated.
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Mustapha who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) says it is regrettable that social distancing was not observed during the burial.
He made the apology during the daily briefing by the task force.
“The PTF recognises, regrettably, the unintentional violation of the principles and protocols that form the core of our message to Nigerians at the funeral of the late chief of staff,” he said.
“These principles, for emphasis, include the guidance provided on mass gatherings, social distancing, personal hygiene, and restriction of movement. Lessons have been learnt and appropriate measures have been taken to close all gaps.”
On his part, the National Coordinator of the task force, Sani Aliyu, in his speech on Monday, admitted that there should have been better crowd at the burial.
“The PTF will like to acknowledge and apologise for the mistakes that were made regarding the burial of the late Chief of Staff,” he said.
“We realised that crowd control failed, we have learned from this and we will ensure that future events are adequately regulated and follow the task force’s protocols.
“The Gudu Cemetery had since been decontaminated, the personal protective equipment discarded at the site; decontaminated being burned and discarded according to the NCDC guidelines.
“I’ll like to further clarify the issue of COVID-19 and the burial processes. Contrary to what is on social media, the body of the late Chief of Staff was properly prepared for burial, according to NCDC guidelines and the Islamic faith.
“The bodies of persons with COVID-19, as stated clearly by the WHO guidelines except in cases of viral haemorrhagic fever and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious. To date, there’s no evidence of persons having become infected from exposure to the bodies of persons who had died of COVID-19.”
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