President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged his wife, Aisha, to prove the existence of a cabal that she claimed is in control of his administration.
The president’s wife, had in an interview with the BBC in 2016, threatened to withdraw support for her husband if he chose to seek re-election unless he shakes up his cabinet and include more people who worked for his success in 2015.
Mrs. Buhari said, although the victory of the APC in 2015 “was a collective effort of millions of people, only for us to find out that the government is being operated by a few people.”
Also addressing a gathering of APC women in Abuja recently, Mrs. Buhari accused Nigerians of allowing two or three unnamed persons to “cage” her husband, thereby limiting his ability to perform.
Mrs. Buhari, known for her intermittent fiery public rebuke of her husband, said, although over 15 million Nigerians voted for her husband in 2015, only two or three persons have since taken control of the government.
She was, however, silent on the identities of those allegedly involved.
However, in a response to his wife’s claims, President Buhari faulted Aisha’s positions.
Answering questions on the Hausa Service of the Voice of America yesterday, he simply said, “that is her business.”
Buhari said: “What they are saying is different from what is happening. They should come out and say those things they feel were stage-managed by the cabal. What the cabal forced to me to do; they should mention just one thing.”
He went ahead to say the fact that people, including his wife, make such claims, is an attestation to his democratic credentials, saying, “it means everyone is free to say whatever they like.”
Presidency warns against extortion
In a related development, the Presidency has warned political appointees, government officials and party men against influence-peddling for pecuniary gains and other forms of extortion.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, issued the warning in a statement yesterday.
He said: “President Buhari had made it very clear since his inauguration that he won’t tolerate any form of impropriety by his appointees, aides, and government officials who abuse and misuse their offices for illegal financial advantages.”
Shehu further explained that using one’s office or influence for private advantage or financial gains is corruption, warning that “the president would not tolerate any conduct by anybody to use his name to extort innocent people.”
While stressing that President Buhari’s resolve to fight corruption at all fronts remains unchanged, the media aide added that “those who are not genuinely committed to this vision would be weeded out once caught and punished accordingly.”
Shehu urged Nigerians to report any government official or appointee using the president’s name or that of his aides and appointees to extort the public, stressing that the current zero tolerance for corruption by the Buhari administration won’t condone this repugnant culture in government or public business.
‘Aisha right on cabal’
But speaking in an exclusive interview with Blueprint, a spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, Engineer Buba Galadima, yesterday, said the president’s wife was right on cabal.
Galadima, a former associate of President Buhari, said “maybe the president is suffering from amnesia; that is what make people to forget things. Let me remind him that he once told the world, that he does not know what happened around him, because people have caged him, and prevented him from knowing what is happening outside, so who are the people?
“He also once told the world that, he doesn’t know some of the people that he appointed into positions of authority. So, who appointed all these people for him if doesn’t know them? That is the work of the cabal. So, Nigeria is in trouble that we have a President who cannot even remember what he said in the morning.”
