Aisha Buhari - I'll Back Mr President Up, Unless He Shakes Up His Government

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's wife has warned him that she may not back him at the next election unless he shakes up his government.
In a BBC interview, Aisha Buhari suggested his government had been hijacked by only a "few people", who were behind presidential appointments.

She said the president did not know most of the officials he had appointed.
Mr Buhari, who is on a visit to Germany, has responded by saying his wife belonged in his kitchen.
Standing alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a news conference, the president laughed off his wife's accusations.

"I don't know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room," he said.

The remarks earned him a glare from Chancellor Merkel.

Mr Buhari said that having run for president three times and having succeeded the fourth, he could "claim superior knowledge over her".
The influence 'of a few people'

Mr Buhari was elected last year with a promise to tackle corruption and nepotism in government.
But in the interview with Naziru Mikailu from BBC Hausa,
Mrs Buhari said:

"The president does not know 45 out of 50 of the people he appointed and I don't know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years."

She said people who did not share the vision of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were now appointed to top posts because of the influence a "few people" wield.

"Some people are sitting down in their homes folding their arms only for them to be called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position," she said.

His wife's decision to go public with her concerns will shock many people, but it shows the level of discontent with the president's leadership, says the BBC's Naziru Mikailu in the capital, Abuja.