Wife of the President of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari has been sidelined out of key decisions relating to the well-being of President Muhammadu Buhari by a new cabal inside the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, SIGNAL can report.
The new cabal led by Mamman Daura, a long-time confidant of President Buhari has assumed the role of a “presidential think thank” on very key decisions of governance, including matters relating to President Buhari’s health and personal well being.
President Buhari and Daura are said to be related by blood. Buhari is Daura’s uncle although Daura is two and half years older than the president. The nephew-uncle relationship is described as extremely close and date back to childhood years.
The development, an informed source who did not want to be named told SIGNAL on Friday, has pushed Aisha Buhari far away from the circle of political influence which she wielded in the early weeks of Buhari’s assumption of office as President.
News of the new cabal in Aso Rock is coming on the heels of emerging reports on Friday that President Buhari has been advised by his London doctors to undergo surgery to remove what has been described as a cancerous growth, according to a report by online newspaper The Trent.
Buhari, the report indicates, has been diagnosed with cancer and the cancer is “growing but not spreading” and doctors have recommended immediate surgery to remove the growth. “But Buhari is hesitant to undergo the treatment because he would take 6 months to recuperate, during which time, he would be away from the office”, the online newspaper quoted an unnamed presidency source as saying.
Further checks by SIGNAL indicate that the President’s refusal to undergo surgery may not be unconnected to pressure from the new cabal in Aso Rock led by Daura who are advising the ailing president against the move.
“They are keeping the president away from his family. The wife of the president, Aisha Buhari has been cut off. She no longer has a say or influence in most matters that directly affect the personal well being of her husband, the president. Imagine the president is proceeding on a 10-day medical leave and none of his immediate family members is going with him on the trip, not even his wife. That tells you how badly things have degenerated. It was not like this shortly after he won the election. You will remember on several occasions, there were pictures of his children accompanying him on trips abroad. Things have since changed. The Daura cabal is now in charge and there are concerns that they may have hijacked the Presidency and are holding the president hostage. The president is technically no longer in charge of himself and his government. Daura is now the one running the show”, a source who did not want to be named told SIGNAL.
Presidential spokespersons Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Nigerian Presidency announced on Sunday that President Buhari will be proceeding on a 10-day vacation in London beginning from Monday June 6th, 2016 to attend to his health.
A statement from the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said Buhari will during the holiday see an Ear Nose and Throat (E.N.T) specialist following a persistent ear infection. A few days before, the Presidency had claimed that the President was not sick and was fit as a fiddle.
President Buhari was sighted leaving the country in company of his ADC. None of his family members was seen accompanying him on the trip.
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Bamidele S. Ojukwu
June 11, 2016 at 2:21 am
Buhari should spend more time taking care of his health because there is an Igbo proverb which says “ndu bu isi’ which means life first. Refusing surgery will be to his detriment because i don’t see what he is coming back home to do since his Vice is much around. Too much APC lies has made it that no body knows if the nation is going forward or backward – the president’s health inclusive. Though we have not heard from Lai Mohamed the information minister for more false details but one thing they should note down in their personal diaries is that we don’t need any casualty in Aso Rock again. It is crystal clear that a 74yrs old president of nation is no more an asset but a liability. I strong pray for his speedy recovery so that he will come home immediate and resign because Nigerians are suffering because of rigid and un-domestic economic policies. Now the nation is faced with the problem of an unhealthy president and his unhealthy economic policies. Wishing you a speedy once again Mr President. May Allah be with you . God save Nigeria.