Senator Aisha Alhassan ‘Mama Taraba’, Minister of Women Affairs, has vowed to oppose President Muhammadu Buhari if he shows interest in the 2019 presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The minister said she would resign and pitch her tent in the camp of Atiku Abubakar, if the President showed interest to contest against Atiku.
The Presidency offered no comments on Senator Alhassan’s comments, while the APC said its leadership will meet to react to the issue.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on its part, said it was a strong vote of no confidence on the President, saying it further underlined the fact that the Buhari government had performed woefully. The brewing controversy over Mrs. Alhassan’s political inclination arose after a video of her showering encomiums on Atiku as Nigeria’s president in 2019 was leaked online. The video was taken when Mrs. Alhassan led a delegation of political stalwarts on a Sallah visit to the former vice-president, during the recent Sallah holidays in Yola.
In the video, Mrs. Alhassan was heard saying in Hausa: “Your Excellency, our father and our president by the grace of God come 2019. Before you are your people, your supporters for life, the people of Taraba State. They are here to pay homage and to greet you on the occasion of Sallah and for all that Allah has done for you because Allah has raised your status. “We heard that they are coming to extend their greetings, so we said we have to be part of this, and we all came to you. Chairman of the party, come out chairman; he is our leader because he is the chairman of the party, I was only made leader of the delegation. “Here are some of the party officials (pointing at them while sitting). Everybody here is asking to be allowed to say something, but I said no, Baba should be left alone, you are tired…” However, Mr. Paul Ibe, Atiku’s spokesman, confirmed that she was part of a delegation that paid a visit to the former vice-president during the Sallah holidays. He, however, could not confirm what was said during the visit as he claimed he was not present during the visit.
Following the visit to Atiku, Mrs. Alhassan, it was learned, subsequently followed Atiku as part of his delegation as Wazirin Adamawa to pay Sallah homage to the Lamido Adamawa.
Mrs. Alhassan, however, confirmed the video in an interview with the BBC Hausa service. Noting her historic relationship with Atiku, she said: “Atiku is my godfather, even before I joined politics and again, Baba Buhari did not tell us that he is going to run in 2019. “Let me tell you today that if Baba said he is going to contest in 2019, I swear to Allah, I will go before him and kneel and tell him that ‘Baba I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to serve your government as a minister but Baba just like you know, I will support only Atiku because he is my godfather; if Atiku says he is going to contest. “If because of what I said, I am sacked, it will not bother me because I believe in Allah, that my time has elapsed, that is why… “Baba is not a mad man like those calling for my sack. They have been saying that if Baba sees this, I will be sacked.”
