Earlier today, a video snippet made the rounds on social media showing some wives of Nigerian governors presenting a cake to the first lady of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari in felicitation of her birthday which was on February 17.
Shortly after the video made rounds on the internet, it was speculated that the wives of the Nigerian governors travelled to Dubai just to present the cake to the first lady at the expense of taxpayers. Soon after, the video sparked outrage especially on social media as Nigerians knocked the first ladies based on their actions.
However, Bisi Fayemi, the Chairlady of the Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum, and wife of the Ekiti State Governor via a press release on her Twitter page has explained that the governors’ wife did not travel to Dubai to present a cake to the president’s wife on her birthday.
Fayemi explained that they were on an official visit to Dubai and the visit coincided with Aisha Buhari’s birthday so the governor’s wives decided to surprise her with a cake.
Fayemi said, “Our attention has been drawn to a social media post shared on the 1st of March 2022 suggesting that some Nigerian Governors’ Wives were in Dubai to surprise the First Lady of Nigeria Dr Aisha Buhari on the occasion of her birthday on the 17th of February 2022.
“For the avoidance of doubt and in the interest of the public, the Nigerian Governors Wives were on the entourage of the First Lady of Nigeria who was on an official trip to the UAE.
“The trip included visits to Dubai Expo 2020, and tours of the Dubai e-learning centre, Dubai Youth Hub and meetings with foundations and agencies in UAE who are interested in investing in education, health and technology in Africa, with priority given to women and young people.
She further explained, “The trip coincided with the birthday of Her Excellency, Aisha Buhari. On the morning of her birthday, which was February 17, the delegation of Governors’ Wives paid a private visit to present a cake and flowers. After the brief presentation, we proceeded to attend the scheduled meetings for the day.”
Fayemi stated that they were shocked to see misinterpreted news of the video that surfaced online.
She said, “We were therefore dismayed to see footage of the visit interpreted as to mean Governors’ Wives left Nigeria for the sole of celebrating HE’s birthday.
“This is not true and we find this assumption scandalous. We are all dedicated to supporting our spouses as well as our First Lady, and we would never be a party to anything that will bring embarrassment to them and ourselves.
“Our key learnings from our visits to the various agencies in Dubai and the briefings we received points to the need for Nigeria to scale up investments in education, science and technology and provide more opportunities for young people, who are the key to the future. We will continue to address these issues in our own work as well as advocate for increased commitments in these areas from our leaders.”
