COVID-19: Sen. Buruji Kashamu dies of COVID-19 complications.

Buruji Kashamu, a former senator from Ogun state, has died of complications from COVID-19. 

Ben Murray-Bruce who broke the news on Twitter on Saturday said Kashamu died at First Cardiologist Consultants in Lagos.

I have just lost my good friend of forever to #COVID19. Until his death, Sen. Buruji Kashamu and I were inseparable. He died today at First Cardiology Consultants, in Lagos. May his gentle soul rest in peace. I pray his family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this heavy loss. pic.twitter.com/OJGIt0VK3n

— Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) August 8, 2020

Kashamu represented Ogun east in the eighth senate.

He had a brush with the law over allegations of drug dealing while he was in the US.

In 2015, there was a stand-off at his residence after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) attempted to arrest him for extradition to the US.

He challenged the attempt to extradite in court until his death.

He was 62 years old.

Kashamu is the latest casualty in the growing list of prominent figures killed by COVID-19.

Abba Kyari, former chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, and Abiola Ajimobi, former governor of Oyo, all died of COVID-19 complications.

Shehu Sani reacts to ShopRite’s closure plan

Shehu Sani, former Kaduna Central Senator, has reacted as South African retail grocery store, Shoprite announced its plan to exit Nigeria.

According to Sani, who tweeted through his official twitter account, Shoprite’s exit from Nigeria would help local supermarkets in the country to grow.

The former lawmaker wrote: “If Shoprite wants to stay, they can stay; if they want to go, they can go; it will help local supermarkets to grow.”

Shoprite Holdings Limited, a South African company with hundreds of outlets in Nigeria, had said it may discontinue its operations in Nigeria.

The company stated this in its “Operational and Voluntary Trading Update” released on Monday.

According to Shoprite, the decision was due to the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Shoprite to shutdown in Nigeria.

Africa’s biggest retailer store which focuses majorly on groceries, Shoprite, has announced that it would be exiting the West African nation of Nigeria after 15 years of doing business in the country.

The South African retailer has indicated that formalities for closure have started as they are in the process of selling the majority of their stake in their Nigerian business. This was contained in a trading statement for the 52 weeks to end June which the company released on Monday.

There has been a history of South African retailers struggling in the Nigeria market with the likes of Mr Price recently exiting after Woolworths did the same six years ago.

In its statement, Shoprite said the results for the year do not reflect any of their operations is Nigeria as it will be classified as discontinued operation.

he company’s financials shows that International supermarkets (excluding Nigeria) contributed 11.6% total sales. They also reported 1.4% decline in sales from 2018. South African operations alone contributed 78% of overall sales and saw 8.7% rise for the year.

As a result of lockdown, customer visits declined 7.4% but the average basket spend increased by 18.4%.