A Federal lawmaker, Hon. Mohammed Kurfi Danlami, has chided the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Al-Hassan for the statements credited to her in an interview with BBC Hausa service, that she will support a former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for the 2019 presidential election.
Danlami who is currently representing Dutsin-ma/Kurfi Federal Constituency of Katsina State on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) and also deputy chairman House of Representatives committee on petroleum resources downstream in his reaction said he finds it hard to understand the rationale behind the minister’s statement.
He suggested that President Muhammadu Buhari should urgently reshuffle his cabinet to root out treacherous and disloyal elements who are capable of becoming a clog in his administration’s wheel.
The lawmaker said: “I still cannot understand why Aisha Al-Hassan a serving minister of Women Affairs will say if her principal, President Mohammadu Buhari contests in 2019 she will not support him and that her support will be for former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. This is most reckless statement I have ever heard.
“With due respect, I expect President Buhari to embark on urgent cabinet reshuffle, this is necessary as it has become obvious that 80 percent of the serving ministers are treacherous and disloyal to the president and also capable of becoming clogs in the wheel of progress of this administration.”
He said that in his own perspective, Alhassan should top the list of those that should be sacked by Buhari when he reshuffles his cabinet.
“Initially we thought her statement was one of such fake news, but shockingly and without remorse she came out in defense of her statement,” the Senator said in a statement released on Thursday.
“Since her loyalty is for Atiku, I don’t see any reason she should still remain in Buhari’s cabinet. I think she should just pitch her tent with Atiku’s presidential bid. What amazed me most is that the former VP has not declared yet, neither has the incumbent President.”
Danlami held that if Atiku dumps APC, Al-Hassan will as well follow him.
“I thought her BBC interview should have been about the progress she recorded in her ministry or innovation she has introduced thus far, but what she could only do was to create unnecessary distraction and embarrass the government. This is ridiculous and most unfortunate,” lawmaker added.
Meanwhile, the Minister has declared that she is still loyal to president Buhari. She criticized all those calling for her sack because of disloyalty as mischievious.
The Minister had during the Sallah holidays visited the former Vice President in Yola beore the BBC interview emerged.
Many political watchers had condemned Alhassan’s visit, during which she made philosophical comments on the 2019 presidential contest, as a tacit support for Abubakar’s presidential ambition.
They also alleged that it signified disloyalty to her current boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, who may still be interested in seeking a fresh mandate.
But Alhassan, in a telephone interview with NAN, said that her Sallah homage to Abubakar did not amount to disloyalty to Buhari.
The minister said Abubakar had remained her political mentor over the years and was still a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that her loyalty to Buhari and his administration, which she serves as a minister, was “unshakable”.
She accused her “political detractors” of “amplifying and misinterpreting” the visit so as to smear her image because they were afraid of her growing political strength in Taraba.
She said: “In a nation where politicians are quick to dump the people that assisted them to get to where they are, for political expediency, I have chosen to maintain a long standing family relationship with Abubakar, as well as Buhari, who I consider as a father.
“Besides, neither Buhari nor Abubakar has officially told anyone of an interest in seeking election in 2019,” she said.
Declaring that power comes from God, she said that if she loses her job because of her visit, she would consider it as the will of God.
She urged Nigerians to support the policies and programmes of the Buhari administration because it was time for governance and not yet time for politicking.