The First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari has been commended for redefining and changing the face of the office of the first Lady of the Federal republic.
Giving the commendation, a President Muhammadu Buhari support group, Re-elect Buhari Movement, RBM, in a statement signed by its convener, Mr. Emmanuel Umohinyang, and made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, noted that though the office is unconstitutional, the wife of the President, Mrs. Buhari has carved a positive image for the office in the last three and a half years.
Umohinyang added that the finesse she has brought into the office has positively impacted on nation’s image unlike the experience of the recent past.
Specifically, RMB noted that under the present administration, the office has complemented the office of the President instead of competing with it.
The statement reads, “I think so far so good. In the past, Nigerians were not pleased with the operations of that office; I think it has been modified by the wife of the President under the present administration.
“Be that as it may, I traveled to the village recently and I saw the picture of the wife of the President on a ‘future assured banner’ and I was curious because I needed to know what the banner could be doing in my village.
“I walked into the compound out of curiosity, only to be told that the woman who had displayed the banner got it from an event she attended in the South-South, who being a widow, happened to be a beneficiary of Mrs. Buhari’s pet project.
“Imagine a widow who had lost hope now being empowered, being given money to start up a business to be able to fend for herself and children.”
The convener said the he was touched y the widow’s explanation and how she came about the banner, which according to him tells that the ‘future assured programme’ has really gone far, traveled several kilometres away from Abuja where it was launched.
He added the impact of a programme like this on the lives of people makes it compelling to say if we had this type of robust programme, Nigerians would not have pusled for the scrapping of that office.
“When you look at previous administrations, especially the recent past, the First Lady’s office was badly abused. It was raised to a level that it was presumed that it was running at par with the office of the President,” Umohinyang added,
“What has happened under this administration is that the wife of the President, Mrs. Buhari has complemented her husband very well and we now have a purposeful wife of the President.”
The RMB therefore appealed to Mrs Buhari to continue with her pet project, even after leaving office, as it has impacted positively on the lives of widows, orphans and the poor,
It said, “If you go to the website of that project, you will marvel at the massive changes that programme has brought to our people and when you have such offices, we should also support the wife of the President to do more.
“From what we have seen in the last three and a half years, it is not near the abuse we have seen of that office in the recent past.”