In
an official statement, the presidency has abolished the office of the
First Lady in replacement with the portfolio of 'Office of the Wife of
the President'
The presidency has revealed that the official portfolio was yet to
be assigned to Aisha, the wife of president Buhari, overruling what
hitherto was known as “First Lady’s office”. Apparently renaming it
“Office of the Wife of the President”, the presidency however stated
that Mrs. Buhari would, for now, be saddled with women and youth related
issues in the country.
The Presidency was reacting to allegations in some Nigerian media
that the wife of President Buhari has moved into the First Lady’s office
in the Aso Villa. Describing the allegation as totally false and
fictitious, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said that even though there was absolutely
nothing wrong with Mrs. Buhari making use of the office space reserved
for the First Lady, she had not done so in her capacity.
Shehu stated that under president Buhari, the office shall be
completely different from what obtained in the past, saying that the era
of the First Ladies issuing oil wells and licenses was gone.
“President Buhari promised that there would be a clear
difference between the role played by his wife during his tenure and
that played by many previous First Ladies.
“All that ostentation, ubiquitousness and arrogance we have
come to expect from the office are over and done with. Change has come.
“The ideal platform from which she will be useful to Nigeria’s
women and children is still being thought out. Once this has been
concluded on, Mrs. Buhari’s role will become clearer to all Nigerians.
There will be nothing shady or hidden about it. There will be no access
to public funds. It will be purely private and voluntary”, he said.
The presidential spokesman recalled that the time Mrs. Buhari had
to make use of the office was at the beginning of the present
administration.
He added that the meeting during which she hosted the wives of
governors was held in a section of the Villa’s banquet hall, not in the
First Lady’s office.
“Her only visit to that office was at the point of the take-over of the Villa by the incoming administration.
“Out of respect to Mrs. Buhari, the Sierra-Leonian First Lady,
Mrs. SiaKoroma recently surrendered her position of head of Africa’s
First Ladies to Mrs. Buhari, inviting her to take up the same seat which
Mrs. Jonathan hurriedly handed over a few weeks to the handover of her
husband’s government to President Buhari. Again, all these things are
currently under consideration and no decision has been arrived at
presently,” Shehu said.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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