President Buhari under fire from his wife, Aisha

In a BBC interview, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been criticized by his wife, Aisha Buhari.

In the interview Aisha claimed that the president “does not know” most of the top officials he has appointed, and also warned that she may not back him at the next election if he fails to make appropriate changes to his government.

She suggested the government had been hijacked, saying a “few unknown people” were behind presidential appointments.

In the interview with Naziru Mikailu from BBC Hausa, Mrs Buhari said:

“The president does not know 45 out of 50 of the people he appointed and I don’t know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years.

“After receiving complaints upon complaints, I decided to tell him (President Buhari). But, all the same, a lot of people are coming on their own and also collectively to tell him that things are not going the way it should. Most of these people occupying some agencies nobody knows them. They don’t know our party manifesto, they don’t know what we campaigned for. They were not part of us completely.

“They don’t have the mission or vision of our APC. I have my own right to say how I feel about something. If it continues like this, I will not be part of any movement again. I need to work with the people that we have started the journey collectively as a team. So that he would leave a legacy.” 

When asked if she has talked to her husband about her concerns, she said: “Yes he knows. He knows.”

Mr Buhari was elected last year with a promise to tackle corruption and nepotism in government.

The first lady‘s decision to go public with her concerns will shock many people, but it shows the level of discontent with the president’s leadership, says the BBC’s Naziru Mikailu in Abuja.

The Nigerian economy, battered by low global oil prices and a currency devaluation, officially entered recession in August for the first time in a decade.

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Source – BBC