Adedokun Waliyu 
A former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Naja’atu Mohammed, has accused Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, of being one of the cabals at the Aso Rock Villa.
Ms Mohammed made the damning allegation Monday morning in an interview aired on Arise TV.
The APC’s former head of civil society organisations directorate was speaking against the backdrop of the recent claim made by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Mr El-Rufai alleged there were certain elements within Aso Rock working against the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu.
But while the Kaduna governor was silent on the identities of the cabal, Ms Mohammed fingered the First Lady as part of the dreaded caucus.
She said: “We have to first try to understand what a cabal is, a cabal is a secret political group or faction… they manipulate and control the system and everything that runs in the government… And let me tell you one of the cabals is Aisha Buhari.”
“Aisha Buhari that is talking today is part of the cabal. Yes, we knew the cabal of Abba Kyari of late, the Mamman Daura that she (Aisha) couldn’t come out to say. When she started talking about the cabal, she glossed over it, she didn’t have the guts to come out and name names, but for the first time in Nigeria, I began to name names.”
Having retweeted the video where Mr El-Rufai made the claim against the cabal, many interpreted Mrs Buhari’s action as in support of the claim made by the Kaduna State Governor.
Ms Mohammed, however, disagreed with the proposition as she insisted that though the First Lady chose to amplify the claim made by Mr El-Rufai, it does not mean she is not part of the cabal.
“She reinforced what El-Rufai said, she agreed with what El-Rufai said. El-Rufai had said there is a cabal in the Villa and she confirmed it, but what I am saying is this; she is also part of the cabal.
“I am not trained to say they did this or that; I am trained to name names. You have to have the guts to tell Nigerians who these cabals are.”
When contacted to respond to the allegation by Ms Mohammed, the media assistant to the First Lady, Aliyu Abdullahi, promised to get back once he gets a directive from his principal. He had not done so as of the time of filing this report.
