Aisha, the
wife of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has said she may not back her
husband’s re-election in 2019 unless he shakes up his cabinet.
In an
interview with the BBC, Mrs. Buhari said the president “does not know” most of
the top officials he appointed to office.
Mr. Buhari
has not indicated whether or not he will seek re-election, and according to his
wife, he has not told his family too.
“He is yet
to tell me (if he’ll seek re-election) but I have decided as his wife, that if
things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and
ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again,” she said.
The Nigerian
leader is allowed by the constitution to seek re-election for a second term in
office. Should he seek re-election, he is expected to be the candidate to beat
for his All Progressives Congress, APC, party; although he could be challenged
by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who lost to him in the 2014 primaries.
Mrs.
Buhari also gave an indication of something which has caused silent anger
amongst some leaders of the APC.
She said
some of the president’s appointees did not share the vision of his party and
were appointed because of the influence of a “few people.”
“Some
people are sitting down in their homes folding their arms only for them to be
called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position,” she said.
Asked to
name those who had hijacked the government, she refused, saying: “You will know
them if you watch television.”
One name
that has been repeatedly mentioned as having a strong influence in Mr. Buhari’s
appointments is his cousin, Mamman Daura.
Mr. Daura,
who holds no official position, is said to be the most powerful man in the
presidency and is said to have Mr. Buhari’s ears.
There had
been rumours within the Aso Villa of him having clashes with Mrs. Buhari over
his influence on the president.
On whether
the president was in charge of his administration, Mrs. Buhari said: “That is
left for the people to decide.”
Mrs.
Buhari’s decision to go public with her concerns may shock many people, but it
shows the level of discontent with the president’s leadership, the BBC quotes
its reporter Naziru Mikailu, as saying Abuja.
Speaking
further on the appointments, Mrs. Buhari said, “The president does not know 45
out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed and I don’t know them
either, despite being his wife of 27 years.”
She also
mentioned the improvement of security in the north-east as her husband’s major
achievement.
“No-one is
complaining about being attacked in their own homes. Thankfully everyone can
walk around freely, go to places of worship, etc. Even kids in Maiduguri have
returned to schools,” Mrs. Buhari said.
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