The marriage is billed to take place on September 4, 2020 and being the first-ever wedding to take place inside Aso Rock Villa, expectations are high.
Most dignitaries invited to the wedding of Hanan, one of the daughters of President Muhammadu Buhari, and her husband-to-be, Mohammed Turad, son of an ex-lawmaker from Kaduna State, may not attend the event over fear of COVID-19, Presidency sources have told SaharaReporters.
The marriage is billed to take place on September 4, 2020 and being the first-ever wedding to take place inside Aso Rock Villa, expectations are high.
In preparation for the grand ceremony, First Lady, Aisha Buhari, had sneaked out of Nigeria in August to the United Arab Emirates under the guise of a medical emergency to shop for Hanan’s nuptials, which has
been dubbed 'The First wedding'.
SaharaReporters gathered that the declination of invitation to the event by top guests might not be unconnected with the online newspaper’s story revealing the COVID-19 status of President Buhari’s closest aide and Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Sarki Abba, on Tuesday.
“Abba tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago but his current status as we speak is unknown, whether he has tested negative or not.
"All I know is that there’s conspiracy of silence with regards to his status,” a source told SaharaReporters.[story_link align="left"]84095[/story_link]
Abba, who has since resumed duties after recovering from the virus, is considered still unsafe to mingle with others inside the Presidential Villa by some persons including the First Lady.
It was gathered that Aisha has vowed not to allow Abba attend the wedding ceremony as a result of this situation.
Aisha is also opposed to the idea of Mamman Daura, a nephew and close confidant of Buhari, attending the event but the President has reportedly insisted on having him be a part of the occasion.
It is, however, not known if Daura is in Nigeria at this time or not after being flown in a private jet to the United Kingdom after exhibiting respiratory difficulties with symptoms similar to Coronavirus in August.
“Aisha Buhari is insisting she must not see Sarki Abba and Mamman Daura at the wedding of her daughter. Though Daura is presently out of the country but incase he comes back to Nigeria before the event, the President said he should be allowed to attend. [story_link align="left"]84081[/story_link]
“Though Abba has recovered, he resumed yesterday after two weeks in isolation. I still don’t know why the First Lady doesn’t want to see him at the event. The press statement by the Presidency denying that Abba never tested positive was planned to douse tension.
“Apart from the First Lady, most of the guests invited are afraid. You know most of the President’s friends are those above 60 years and they are vulnerable to the virus,” a source said.
The current situation, SaharaRepoters reliably gathered has sent panic across top circles of Nigeria's elites planning to attend the ceremony inside Aso Rock Villa on Friday.
It was further gathered that invitation to the ceremony is being streamlined and as a result the groom's family have made separate arrangements to host guests on Saturday.
The bride-to-be, Hanan, is a graduate of Photography from Ravensbourne University in England, who in July 2019 ordered the Department of State Services to arrest a young businessman based in Delta State, Athony Okolie, after he was issued a mobile number by telecommunications company MTN previously used and abandoned by her.[story_link align="left"]82818[/story_link]
Okolie spent 10 weeks in unlawful detention before he was finally released by the secret police.
Earlier in January, Hanan was again in the news after she attended an event to photograph a Durbar by Rilwanu Adamu, Emir of Bauchi, in one of the jets in the presidential fleet.
The move was condemned by Nigerians but the Presidency defended the action by saying that it was a normal procedure.