Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu has been slammed by wife of the President, Aisha Buhari.
Aisha Buhari and her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari
First Lady, Aisha Buhari has come down heavy on presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu accusing him of going beyond his limit.
According to reports by DailyTrust, it all started after the President's wife alleged that Alhaji Mamman Daura gave a presidential directive without her husband’s knowledge using Garba Shehu.
Mamman Daura is President Muhammadu Buhari's nephew who lives in Glass House inside the presidential villa.
The feud between the first lady and Daura’s family worsened in October when she returned from a two-month foreign trip.
It became public knowledge when a video of the president’s wife asking questions and making comments about being locked out of a room and demanding that some people should pack their belongings went viral. She engaged Daura’s daughter, Fatima.
Daily Trust had exclusively reported in September that the first lady angered by the development in the villa, left for abroad in August. The feud festered when she returned.
The first lady in a statement she personally signed and made available to Daily Trust on Wednesday morning, said the directive scrapping the office of the first lady was issued by Mamman Daura, using a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu.
Tagged,” Garba Shehu Has Gone Beyond His Boundaries”, she said the directive embarrassed the president.
The statement which was sent to our correspondent through Suleiman Haruna’s email, Aisha Buhari’s spokesperson reads: ”Nigeria’s development is hinged on the ability of public officials to execute their mandates professionally, and to be shining examples in their various areas of endeavor. It is not a good sign when officials abandoned their responsibility and start clutching at straws.
"As spokesperson of the President, he has the onerous responsibility of managing the image of the President and all the good works that he is executing in the country. Rather than face this responsibility squarely, he has shifted his loyalty from the President to others who have no stake in the compact that the President signed with Nigerians on May 29, 2015 and 2019.
'To make matters worse, Mr. Shehu has presented himself to these people as a willing tool and executioner of their antics, from the corridors of power even to the level of interfering with the family affairs of the President. This should not be so. The blatant meddling in the affairs of a First Lady of a country is a continuation of the prodigal actions of those that he serves.
"We all remember that the chief proponent appropriated to himself and his family a part of the Presidential Villa, where he stayed for almost 4 years and when the time came for him to leave, he orchestrated and invaded my family’s privacy through a video circulated by Mamman’s Daughter, Fatima, the public was given the impression that on arrival into the country I was locked out of the villa by Mr. President. Garba Shehu as Villa Spokesperson, knew the truth and had the responsibility to set the records straight, but because his allegiance is somewhere else and his loyalty misplaced, he deliberately refused to clear the air and speak for the President who appointed him in the first place. Consequently, his action has shown a complete breakdown of trust between the First Family and him.