Ailing Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State “is repeating the same mistake Abba Kyari made” that culminated in his losing the battle against COVID-19, a concerned prominent Nigerian with insider knowledge of the medical circumstances leading to Abba Kyari’s death has lamented.

“I can’t believe this,” the source told News Express in reaction to Governor Ikpeazu’s travails. “Ikpeazu is repeating the same mistake Abba Kyari made. All he should do is to allow his personal physician to be part of the COVID-19 response team of the FCT for the purpose of attending to him. The WHO cocktail being administered to COVID-19 patients in the isolation centres is completely unknown to private clinics. That’s what happened to Abba Kyari.”

The concerned Nigerian spoke out after reading the recent exclusive story by News Express that Ikpeazu was being treated at a private facility at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. Abba Kyari, erstwhile Chief of Staff to President Buhari, died on April 17, 2020 after weeks-long battle with COVID-19.

Ikpeazu has not been seen in public, on TV or social media for weeks, sparking fears that his situation may be serious. His positive test result was announced on June 8 by Abia State Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu. This is contrary to the practice of governors who contract COVID-19 personally announcing it on camera and assuring their subjects as they proceed for treatment.

Confirming the status of the Governor, Okiyi had said: “The Governor confirmed that the second test carried out on his sample by the NCDC laboratory returned a positive result.

“I wish to assure the good people of Abia State that their governor is fighting the virus. We spoke even up to 2 a.m. this morning but he decided that it is important to let the people of Abia State know and that we also strongly advise our people to take personal responsibility for their own safety because COVID-19 is real and that the state has the resources to nurse individuals who might come down with this virus back to good health.”

Continuing, Okiyi said: “The governor is being taken care of by a team of competent medics and, in the interim, the Deputy Governor will continue to perform the duties of the Office of the Governor and we do not expect that there will be any lacuna in government.”

Before Ikpeazu’s positive test, four other state governors previously contracted COVID-19 but have since been successfully treated and returned to work. They are Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna.

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