AISHA BUHARI TAKES OVER PATIENCE JONATHAN’S OFFICE

Notwithstanding the change in nomenclature, Wife of
the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has been operating
from the Office of the First Lady located inside the
Presidential Villa, Abuja,THEPANACEA can report
authoritatively.
Ahead of the March 28 presidential election, Buhari,
who was the candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, had promised that he would not have an
office for the First Lady should he emerge victorious
at the election.
"The Office of the First Lady is not in the constitution,
so there's no official role for them," Buhari had said.
As the campaigns progressed however, Mrs. Buhari
joined the APC team.
That made observers doubt whether the President
would be able to walk his talk.
Since her husband's assumption of office, Mrs.
Buhari has dropped the title of "First Lady" used by
her predecessors, including Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
She adopted the title of "Wife of the President."
Investigations by our correspondent have, however,
showed that apart from the nomenclature, nothing
significant has changed.
Mrs. Buhari and her handlers operate from the First
Lady's office used by her predecessors, it was learnt.
The office is located beside the official residence of
the President.
Her office, like it was under her predecessors,
houses her staff members, including personal aides,
security details and protocol officials, among others.
She has so far organised events similar to the ones
that were not in short supply under her immediate
predecessor, Mrs. Jonathan.
The first event organised by Mrs. Buhari was an
elaborate "thank you dinner" she organised in
honour of APC women and youths for supporting her
husband's election.
The President's wife, during the recently concluded
Ramadan, also broke her fast with some women
leaders and the less privileged.
Recently, the Office of the Wife of the President, in
conjunction with a United Kingdom-based private
firm, organised a seminar on protocol, etiquette and
security for wives of state governors.
At that event, the President's wife charged the wives
of the state governors to come up with laudable
programmes to complement their husbands' efforts.
At the conclusion of Ramadan, Mrs. Buhari also
hosted children to an elaborate Sallah party.
All these events were held inside the Banquet Hall of
the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with glamour.
Apart from these, the President's wife, represented
by some individuals, had donated either cash or
relief items to internally displaced persons and other
groups in parts of the country.
Our correspondent also learnt that she is at the verge
of initiating a pet project, a platform that will be used
to meet specific needs.
That has also been the style of previous First Ladies.
The Director of Media in the Office of the Wife of the
President, Zakari Yau Nadabo, confirmed to our
correspondent on Thursday that arrangements were
ongoing for a pet project for Mrs. Buhari.
Nadabo said the first step was to identify the area
where the President's wife is interested in making
intervention.
He said, "It is not about initiating a pet project alone.
The first step is to identify the area. The plan is
already in the pipeline. Issues are just beginning to
take shape.
"We do not want to rush. We want to take our time to
do a careful analysis so that we can intervene in
critical areas."
Thepanaceareports
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