Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the advice of his wife, Aisha, and other Nigerians to rejig his cabinet.
The governor was on the entourage of the president on his latest official trip to Germany and while speaking to state house correspondents on their return, stated that there is need to bring in people who would help to actualise the vision of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for Nigeria.
President Buhari’s wife, Aisha, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, last week implied that her husband was not totally in charge of his administration, warning that she might not support his re-election in 2019 if the president failed to shake up his cabinet.
Okorocha advised the president to harken to the voice of the people, saying: “Quite frankly, I am a governor and I know where the shoe pinches most. It is like somebody in the game and those who are outside seem to see more.
“So it’s natural. I think for any reason, if there is a clarion call on Mr. President to look into his cabinet and bring in more people, there is nothing wrong in taking note of the comments from Nigerians.
“If everyone keeps saying the same thing, there must be a sense in what they are saying,” the governor said.
He however added that though some people feel they were being overlooked or not properly recognized in the administration, everything will soon be sorted out as the President was committed to making things better.
He said: “Most people in the APC feel they are not carried along, so many people who worked for the party are complaining every day. They want appointment.
“The people in the south-east are saying that they have not been appointed, some people from the north east are saying they have not been appointed, even some people in the north-west where the president comes from.
“Some people at local government are saying they have not been remembered. So at what point do we draw this line. But there is always room for amendment,” he assured.
The Imo State governor who is also chairman of the APC governor’s forum dismissed the claims that president Buhari used the opportunity of the visit to seek medical attention in Germany.
“The president never went for any medical check-up. At least I was with him till 1 a.m. after dinner before I left him and he went to bed, and the following day I came out to see him in the morning,” Okorocha explained.
“He didn’t go to any hospital. The only hospital we went to was to see a military general who had an accident.
“I don’t know why in this part of the world people are only happy when someone is down. I think we also have to change our attitude.”
Okorocha added that “If Buhari succeeds, it is Nigeria that is succeeding, and if Nigeria fails it is not Buhari that is failing. So we just need to support him to succeed so that all of us can be happy.”
On the controversy generated by the president’s wife’s interview with the BBC and the comments of President Buhari, Governor Okorocha said “I think both the interview and the comment were taken out of context.”
“I can understand why the international community speaks on this matter because of human rights and all that is going on around the world,” he said.