Since Wednesday, social media has been awash with claims that the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will be getting married to Sadiya Umar Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, because Mrs Buhari has been away for months.
A video purportedly showing Nigeria’s First Lady Aisha Buhari locked up in a room in Aso Villa after she returned from London on Thursday has been shared and viewed tens of thousand times on the social media.
Mrs Buhari left the country early August to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj (Muslim pilgrimage) and has not returned since then.
Several hashtags have been trending on Twitter on the premise of the wedding and the “sudden” return of Mrs Buhari to the country to stop the wedding. #TheWedding, #BUSA19, #AISHA, #Presidentialwedding and several others.
Some other local news platforms have also circulated the wedding claim. They all claimed that a close source at the Presidential Villa disclosed to them that the marriage would take place on Friday, October 11, 2019.
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Former Special Assistant on Social Media to the former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri tweeted on Thursday night, saying that the rumour of the second wife is true, although the date of the marriage is not known yet.
“Apparently, the second wife story is true. What cant be confirmed is the date of the wedding fatiha. This man shouldn’t tempt his Creator. He just recovered from serious ill health and now he wants to add another yarinya! Second Term, Second Wife! Baba o! #SecondTermSecondWife”
Is Buhari getting married?
While there are no official statements to authenticate the claims, the supposed new missus, Farouq, is presently in New York promoting a UN campaign against poverty.
More concretely, a presidential spokesman Femi Adesina in a chat with Newsmen has debunked any marriage claims.
“How will anyone expect that the President will be getting married and it will be a secret affair?” Adesina said.
“Nigerians like to gist and play banters, as it is another way of relaxation for many, and they have seen the president as a personality that suits their side talks. It is bad, but that is what happens.”
Is Aisha back to the country?
The claims that Nigeria’s First Lady is back to the country is false. The video purportedly showing her back to the villa is an old video.
Mrs Buhari’s aide also confirmed to BBC Pidgin that the video is an old video. She said it happened about two years ago. The source, however, disclosed that Mrs Buhari and the president had a little misunderstanding and that might be the reason she is still in London.
Source: The guardian.
