The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is clear on who a public officer is. From the first letter in that Constitution to the last, nowhere was the “Office of the First Lady” mentioned.
However, in practice, wives of successive presidents and state governors have carved such offices for themselves, and in most cases draw huge funds from the state coffers to run such offices.
If you think this is absurd, wait for this. In Jigawa State, there are three offices for three First Ladies — wives of the state governor, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (MON) — all replete with full staff members.
In a release announcing new appointments recently, three special assistants were equally announced for the First Ladies.
Sa’adatu Bashir Muhd, Mariya Muhammed Muktar, and Aisha Garba were special assistants to each of “Her Excellencies”.
For those who may care to know, Jigawa State survives mainly on federal allocation, with little or nothing coming by way of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
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