15:T6a6,

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired General Muhammadu Buhari, says he will not have an office for first lady if elected in next year’s election.

In an exclusive interview with Weekly Trust in Kaduna, Buhari said his decision was premised on the fact there is no office of first lady in the Nigerian Constitution, just as there is no official role for presidents’ wives.

Rather, he said ministries which are constitutional should be allowed to play their roles.

“There is the Ministry of Women Affairs, and so on,” he said.

The APC flag bearer said women would however play very important roles in his administration.

“I was raised by my mother, as I lost my father when I was under six years, so I know what a woman can do if given the chance,” he said, adding that he sees them as his cornerstone.

General Buhari also spoke on the situation in Chibok, Borno State, where over 200 schoolgirls were abducted by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, and remain in their captivity.

“Imagine a mother with a teenage daughter there and for seven months and has no clue where she is,” he said, noting that women’s effort in looking after children, apart from the pain of childbirth, aggravates the pain of losing a child.

“Roughly one year in their tummy and from the time they are born until they clock six, children tend to assume they know everything, but it is women, their mothers, who are responsible for them. I have the greatest respect for women,” he said.

•Photo shows Buhari.

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