Hajiya Hadiza, the wife of a former president, the late Shehu Shagari, has died from COVID-19 related complications at the age of 80.
The family head, Muhammad Bala Shagari, said in a statement: “We regret to announce the demise of our beloved mother, Hajiya Hadiza Shehu Shagari, the wife of H.E late President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, GCFR (Turakin Sokoto).
“We lost her in the early hours of Thursday at about 3.00am, after battling COVID-19 at the Gwagwalada Isolation Centre in Abuja.”
Shagari, the first democratically elected president, was in power from 1979 and 1983. He died in 2018, aged 93.
President Muhammadu Buhari commiserated with the family.
A statement by presidential spokesman Mr Femi Adesina reads: “President Buhari describes the departed as a pillar of strength and support, holding forth for the family while her husband busied himself with service to the nation.
“President Buhari extends condolences to the government and the people of Sokoto State, urging the family to be consoled by the good deeds of Hajiya Hadiza.”
