Against the background of her confessed attachment to the former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar who recently defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jumai Alhassan, has made it clear that she will remain in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The minister, who had in September last year said that she would support Atiku Abubakar for the 2019 presidential election even if President Muhammadu Buhari decided to run, now pledged allegiance to President Buhari, saying: “I am and I will continue to remain in APC.’’
In a telephone interview with an online medium MyNationNews, the minister, who is popularly called Mama Taraba, said that she was not forced to leave the PDP on which platform she became a senator and that she would remain in the APC.
“Politics is all about interest, and nobody forced me to leave PDP to join APC, so no want will force me out of it. I will continue to work for APC and that’s why I travelled out to Taraba, to campaign for our party’s candidate Sanusi Jambawaile.
“I know many may wish to see me leaving APC, but let me assure them I will remain in APC! How can I destroy the house we collectively built?”
Although, she would not make comment on Atiku Abubakar’s defection from to the PDP, Aisha said that the APC, from where her godfather defected “is intact in Taraba.
“There is no squabble or faction, and our great party APC in Taraba is intact. That’s why we all work and campaigned together with His Excellency, the former Acting Governor UTC.
‘’So, we are one no any problem as some of you thought,’’ she further.”
Mama Taraba, had, late last year vowed to follow Atiku to wherever he would go because: “Atiku is my godfather even before I joined politics.”
Aisha, who spoke in Hausa language said: “let me tell you today that if Baba (President Muhammadu Buhari) said he is going to contest in 2019, I swear to Allah, I will go before him and kneel and tell him that ‘Baba,’ I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to serve your government as a minister but Baba just like you know I will support only Atiku because he is my godfather. If Atiku said he is going to contest.” [myad]
