Politics
2019: Minister Alhassan may work against Buhari
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan, has denied defecting from the All Progressives Congress (APC) contrary to insinuations in some quarters.
According to the minister, who confirmed that she will be contesting the 2019 governorship election in Taraba State on the platform of the APC, her purported defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the handiwork of her political enemies.
The minister, who addressed a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, explained that her political enemies misinterpreted her visit to the PDP secretariat in July 2017 as a clandestine ploy to return to her former political party.
Her stand however has left many political watchers confused as to how it would not create a conflict of interest for her between her principal, Muhammadu Buhari, and her self-professed political mentor and godfather former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Read also: SARAKI: We won’t descend into the gutter with APC
It would be recalled that Alhassan had caused an uproar when, in 2017, she said she would not support President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office, electing to pitch her tent with Atiku.
At the time she made the statement, Atiku was still a member of the APC but has now defected to the PDP, fuelling speculations that she may dump APC for the PDP or may stay back in APC to still work her benefactor.
The minister said: “Next month is the primary and by the grace of God, I have written my notification letter to my boss, Mr President, and he wished me well and gave me the assurance that he would support the Independent National Electoral Commission and the security agencies to conduct free, fair and transparent elections.”
How she intends to stay in the APC with Buhari and still support Atiku who is vying for the PDP presidential ticket to contest against Buhari remains to be seen.
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