AFLPM’s leadership: Dame Jonathan denies plot to rig out Buhari’s wife

By Lawrence Olaoye

President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife and Chairperson of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM), Dame Jonathan, has denied the allegation that she is convening a summit of the body in order to deny the incoming First Lady, Hajia Aishat Buhari, the opportunity to assume the leadership of the mission.

The First Lady in a statement from her office explained that the summit, billed to hold on 15th of this month, had been fixed long time ago by the mission.

According to the statement “It would be recalled that Nigeria’s Hajia Turai Yar’Adua was elected President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission during the 6th Summit in February 2008 in Congo Brazzaville for a term of two years. Her tenure ought to have come to an end in 2010 when she should have organized a Summit to elect a successor and hand over accordingly.

“The unfortunate incident that led to her sudden exit from office is well known and need not be mentioned here.

“This inability of the former President to officially hand over created a leadership vacuum in the African First Ladies Peace Mission for some time until Her Excellency, Dame Patience Jonathan was prevailed upon by her colleagues, the African First Ladies to convene the Summit in July 2012 at which she was subsequently elected President to serve for two years.

“For the avoidance of doubt, according to its internal regulation, the tenure of office of President of African First Ladies Peace Mission is for a period of two years only. This therefore implies that the tenure of office of the incumbent President ought to have ended in 2014, when a fresh election should have held for a new Executive.

“However, at the 3rd Executive Bureau meeting of the AFLPM in Pretoria, South Africa in 2014, Her Excellency, Dame Patience Jonathan drew the attention of members to the then forthcoming election in Nigeria, which preparation would not enable her host the summit to facilitate the election of new Executives and a handover.

“She therefore proposed that the 8th Summit holds after the Nigeria general elections and it was accordingly agreed that the Summit would hold in July in Abuja with the understanding that if her husband did not succeed in his re-election bid, she would convene the summit in May 2015, to enable the election of a new President and ensure a smooth handover since her tenure has ended.”