Power play in Aso Rock, as Buhari, Aisha’s aides go against each other

Another round of power show seems to be playing out in the nation’s seat of power, this time between aides to the number one citizen and those of his wife.

This has prompted wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha to appeal to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, to let go her aides in police custody.

The aides were said to have been detained by the police, following orders of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the President, Idris Kassim.

Trouble started, it was learnt, when a top aide to the President, Yusuf Sabiu, also known as Tunde, recently returned from another state and refused to self-isolate.

Read also: Nigeria’s security structure must be re-examined, or else…. —Aisha Buhari

The aides to the first lady, it was gathered, were not happy that Sabiu returned the Presidential Villa without self-isolating, hence they forcibly removed him from the Villa.

Sabiu, who is one of the aides to the President, was said to have asked the CSO to arrest Aisha’s aides as well as her ADC, Usman Shugaba.

Consequently, Aisha, in a series of tweets on her verified Twitter handle, @aishambuhari, on Friday wrote:

“That Covid-19 is real and still very much around in our nation is not in doubt. Consequently, I call on all relevant government agencies to enforce the Quarantine Act signed by Mr President and ensure no one is found violating this law and the NCDC (Nigeria Centre for Disease Control) guidelines, especially on interstate travel without the necessary exemptions for movement of essentials.

“Anyone who does that should at the very least be made to undergo a-14 day mandatory isolation no matter who the person is, no one should be above the law and the police command will do well to remember that.

“Finally, I call on the IGP to release my assigned Staff who are still in the custody of the Police in order to avoid putting their lives in danger or exposure to Covid-19 while in their custody.”

Aisha has had a running battle with key elements of Buhari’s kitchen cabinet, prominent of which was her public face-off with the late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, who died of COVID-19, and Shehu Garba, a Presidential spokesman whom she accused of working against the interest of her family.

The presidency is yet to react to her latest outcries.

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