By Baron Ike
Contrary to insinuations that the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan who said last week she would vote for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar instead of her principal, President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 would be humiliated today at the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting, no such thing took place.
Buhari presided over the meeting that started at 11 am and did not betray any ill feeling for the minister, a huge surprise to other cabinet members who had thought Alhassan would be shown the way out.
Some persons like the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir- El-Rufai want her sacked, but the woman said her respect and love for Buhari stays and has nothing to do with her choice of candidate for the presidency in 2019.
Alhassan was spotted at the Council Chambers on Wednesday, September 13 for the Federal Executive Council meeting and had arrived the Presidential Villa few minutes after 10 am, earlier than the commencement time of 11 am.
As expected, she was the cynosure of all eyes immediately she made for the Council Chambers.
The presidency has kept mum on her remarks, and there were insinuations that the Wednesday’s FEC meeting would provide the first opportunity for her to meet with other cabinet members including President Buhari who presides over such meeting, and perhaps get fired.
But on arrival, she appeared unperturbed, going round the hall to exchange pleasantries with some of her colleagues like the Minister of Mines and Steel, Kayode Fayemi, who was standing with the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari and the Permanent Secretary, Jalil Arabi; the Minister of State for Health, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Acting SGF, Minister of Budget and National Planning as well as Minister of Finance.
On realising that she had not exchanged pleasantries with the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s she got up again and went to him for a brief chat before retiring to her seat to continue with her chat with the Minister of Water Resources, who seats next to her in the Chambers.