Ebun Francis
Mrs. Aisha Buhari, wife of Nigeria’s President has once again responded to a follow up report by a Nigerian online portal that tends to justify its earlier publication that the President’s wife colluded with officials at the Nigerian High Commission in the Uk to fleece the Country. Mrs Buhari maintained that the continuous publication of what she described as unfounded stories by the news portal was becoming a great concern to her given that £32,000 was being spent in the past by the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom as landing fees for private jests of former First Ladies compared with #3,500 pounds the High commission incurred for whatever reason during her visit.
Mrs. Buhari made the disclosure through her special assistant on media, Adebisi Olumide-Ajayi in statement made available to newsmen on Sunday.
According to the statement, “The High Commission has its internal administrative procedure, and it is not within the purview of the wife of the President to ask for diplomatic files.
“Furthermore, that the said memo showed little or no knowledge of Her Excellency’s itinerary proves the simple fact we earlier submitted that she had no direct business with the embassy to warrant the accusation of waste or corruption insinuated in the report.
“Part of the wife of the President’s trips abroad are for her NGO, which is not funded by the Government, and It is not uncommon to have stop over in Britain like any other country as the case may be.
“According her VIP treatment is simple protocol for a personality of her status, which is done all over the world, and at no point was she offered anywhere else.
“The High Commission provided the lounge and Hajiya Buhari was not involved in the transaction.
“This is even a far cry from the £32,000 expended in the past as landing fees for private jets of former first ladies.”
Mrs Buhari, therefore, called on the Online portal to carry out a thorough check if the so called monies (£3,500) spent for whatever reason by the High Commission has any direct link with her.