25th December, 2021
COVID-19 is on the rage in the Presidential Villa in Abuja, with reports that several aides of President Buhari have contracted the virus.
There are concerns for the President himself as he may have been exposed to the aides.
According to reports, Buhari’s Aide-de-camp Yusuf Dodo, chief security officer, Aliyu Musa, Permanent secretary in the State House, Tijani Umar and the SSA media, Garba Shehu were among the people infected by the virus.
Also reportedly infected according to a report by Premium Times, is information minister, Lai Mohammed.
But Mohammed has denied this in an interview with PUNCH. He said he attended the FEC meeting on Wednesday and the two emergency FEC meetings on Thursday and Friday.
P.M.News learnt that the spreading virus was the main reason the First Lady shut down her office last week and asked staff to work from home, P.M. News was told.
An Aso Rock insider who said many staff have been infected said some 20 DSS staff were asked to repeat their COVID-19 test slast week, to ascertain their true status.
Only Garba Shehu has confirmed his positive test.
He said he had taken three vaccine jabs and still got the virus.
He declined to confirm the other cases.
By Saturday night, Shehu had switched off his phone, when P.M.News tried to contact him, something unusual of him.
But he told Premium Times he felt OK.
“I have been afflicted by the mild variant of the COVID-19. I felt okay from the beginning, maybe because one had received all three jabs, and right now, I feel 100 per cent. I just finished my hour-long running exercise.
“But the strange thing about this ailment is that it is the scientists, not you, that will say you are okay. Right now, I’m taking my prescriptions and isolating, and would go back for a test to ascertain if the virus is still here or it has left me. Thanks for your goodwill.”
The newspaper reported that some of the infected officials were asked to leave the cabinet meeting on Wednesday after the result of their polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests came back positive.
The Presidential media adviser, Femi Adesina told P.M. News the report is not a big deal that people should be unduly worried about.
His reason was that many aides have taken the jabs and can only have mild symptoms.
He did not confirm the aides infected by the virus.