Aisha did not dump her husband’s campaign – Augie-Kuta

A member of the ruling All Progressives Congress Women and Youth Campaign  Aisha Augie-Kuta has debunked rumours that Nigeria’s First Lady Aisha Buhari is staying away from her husband’s reelection campaign.

“We saw pictures of her in Daura, we saw videos of her in Daura doing door-to-door and all that,” Augie-Kuta said during an interview with Gatefield TV.

“If she is not supporting why would she even be in the country? I doubt that statement is right, that says she is standing away from the campaign,” She added.

Critics have pointed to Aisha Buhari’s perceived laid back approach to President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection campaign as a piece of evidence that she is not favourably disposed to another four years of Buhari presidency.

In fact, Mrs Buhari is arguably the first Nigerian First Lady that have publicly criticised her husband, his closest allies and his party.

In 2016, Mrs Buhari said she will not support Buhari’s re-election bid because few people are calling the shot in this administration at the expense of Nigerians who brought him into power.

“I have decided as his wife, that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again.”

In 2018, she also said APC’s primaries were against the tenets of the party such that it would not be difficult to dissociate her from the process.

In December 2018, Mrs Buhari alleged that two people were the ones in charge of her husband’s administration.

In spite of her open castigations of the ruling party, Mrs Buhari has been campaigning, albeit low-keyed, since the president inaugurated a-700 member women and youth campaign team chaired by his wife late 2018.

In January, she was in Yola where she urged people to vote for her husband’s reelection.

However, she has been absent from most of the rallies held in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Although Mrs Buhari was present at the campaign rally at Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium, Kano on January 5, when she flagged off the APC women wing campaign. On other occasions, she has been represented the by wife of the Vice President, Dolapo Osibanjo.

For instance, On January 8, 2019, She was represented by Mrs Osibanjo at the North Central zonal rally in Lafia.

Also on January 12, Mrs Buhari was absent at the South East rally of the team which was held in Owerri, the Imo state capital. Mrs Osinbajo represented her yet again.

The same thing happened on January 16, at the Northeast zonal rally in Bauchi, on January 19,  at the Southwest zonal rally in Oyo state. On both occasions, Mrs Buhari was represented by Mrs Osinbajo.

But Augie-Kuta has insisted that the first lady’s absent at those events were not an indication of her stance against her husband reelection.

“We saw pictures of her in Daura, we saw videos of her in Daura doing door-to-door and all that,” Augie-Kuta said