Dr. Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, hitherto addressed as wife of the President of Nigeria is henceforth to be addressed as First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This announcement came during an award night and dinner organized in honour of outgone and new governors’ wives at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja on Wednesday 13th June, 2019.
Mrs. Buhari indicated that it was her choice to be addressed as wife of the President, but in the last four years, this had led to some confusion, especially among wives of governors who could not decide whether to be addressed as wife of the Governor or First Lady of the State.
“When my husband was elected newly, I personally chose to be called the wife of the President. But, I have realized that it causes confusion from the states as to whether the wives of state governors are to be addressed as the First Ladies or wives of the governors.”
The First Lady presented awards of excellence to the spouses of former Governors for their contributions towards uplifting the living standards of women and children in their respective States through their various pet projects, urged them sustain the tempo.
“This event is meant to celebrate the outgoing state First Ladies and welcome those coming to take their places; it is both a mixture of happy and unhappy moment for all of us.”
“We need to come together to define our common vision leading to planning and implementation of activities towards improving the lives of women and children.”
“In the last four years many of you have impacted positively in the lives of people in your states and even beyond, you have touched lives, your hands have healed the sick and transformed the faces of sadness into those of smiles, you will be remembered and judged positively by posterity and history, I am happy and proud to have associated with you all.
In her address, the former chairperson of Northern Governors Wives Forum and wife of former Governor, Bauchi State Mrs. Hadiza Abubakar, expressed her appreciation to Mrs. Buhari for her leadership and guidance throughout their tenure.
Mrs. Abubakar commended the role played by the Aisha Buhari Foundation towards addressing the health challenge bedeviled women and children in the Nigeria, especially the rising cases of drug abuse, girl child education, maternal and child health through the forum.
“I have learnt a lot from this forum because of team work, I have the confidence that tomorrow will be greater than today.” she said.
Also speaking, the wife of former Governor of Imo State and chairperson of Southern Governors Wives Forum Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha, said, the forum served as a platform for fostering unity among the spouses of Southern Governors irrespective of political party affiliation.
Mrs. Okorocha thanked the first lady for initiating the southern Governors Wives Forum for the purpose of tackling peculiar problems affecting women and children in the region.
Mrs. Buhari presented award of excellence to the wives of former Governors of Bauchi, Gombe, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, Osun, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Oyo, and Ogun states.
The First Lady also used the event to honour the wife of Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo and also presented long service awards to the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Dr. Hajo Sani and Sarki Abba, one of the close aides of the President.
Earlier in the day, the First Lady hosted wives of present and immediate past Governors to a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. During the meeting, the wife of Governor of Niger State emerged as the new chairperson of Northern Governors Wives Forum while Mrs. Besty Obaseki of Edo State takes over as the chairperson of Southern Governors Wives Forum.
