Your Actions Can Jeopardize The President’s Reputation – Bamgbose Tells Aisha Buhari

Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari has been cautioned about making public statements that could jeopardize the reputation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

This appeal was made by Barrister Olusegun Bamgbose, on the backdrop of the clash involving the First Lady, members of her immediate family, her Aide-de-camp, Usman Shugaba and Sabiu Yusuf, a Special Assistant to President Buhari.

It will be recalled Naija News previously reported that Aisha, President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, had on Friday taken to her Twitter account to ask the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to release her aides from detention.

This follows a reported incident in which Sabiu Yusuf, a personal assistant to President Buhari, had gotten the first lady’s aides arrested after they ejected him from the Presidential Villa for not adhering to COVID-19 safety measures.

The President’s PA was reported to have been evicted from the villa after he returned from Lagos to Abuja on Monday and refused all entreaties to go on self-isolation as required.

The clash also resulted in the firing of gunshots in the Aso Rock presidential villa in Abuja, a happening that has been described as a security breach with the President ordering an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the development.

Reacting to the entire saga, Bamgbose in a statement on Monday, noted that while the First Lady’s feelings and opinions must be respected, he warned that her actions might cause more issues if not properly handled.

He said the issues should have been resolved internally.

Bamgbose said; “There is no doubt that the family of the first family deserves honour and respect. The First Lady deserves to be respected and honored.

“Aisha Buhari should however be urged, to stop further tweeting or publicizing her grievances. One cannot but respect her feelings of being neglected, however, further publicizing the issue may jeopardize the reputation of the President himself.

“One would have expected, that the Chief of Staff or the Interior Minister, should have handled this matter before it escalated. The Inspector-General of Police I know is a disciplined senior Police Officer.

While calling for an amicable resolution of the matter, Bamgbose urged that the First Lady’s aides be released to her by the Police and the entire issue resolved privately.

“He has at least refused the temptation, to join issues with the First Lady on pages of newspapers. This is highly commendable.

“It’s most likely that IGP’s hands are tied by superior authority. However, I will expect the Chief of Staff to the President, and the Interior Minister to wade into the matter and ensure the Aides are released without further delay.

“The IGP should do his best to protect the respect and honor accorded the first family. One would however urge the First Lady not to further join issues with the IGP pending the amicable resolution of the matter.

“I’m convinced that before weekend the Aides will be released to her. It’s a matter that should be resolved privately and not publicly.”