Offices of the President, Governors’ Wives Should Be Scrapped, Says Tafawa Balewa

By Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Eldest son of the late Prime Minister, Yakubu Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, has advocated the scrapping of the offices of the first ladies at the federal an state levels in the country, saying and are a duplication of the functions of the president  and governors.

Speaking yesterday when he received  members of the Save Bauchi State Organisation (SABSO) who paid a visit to the family of the late nationalist to celebrate Nigeria’s 57th Independence anniversary, Tafawa Balewa opined that if the offices of the first ladies must be maintained at federal and states levels, they should be transformed into elective offices such that competent women other than wives of the president or governors could vie for the posts.

According to him, if the country wishes to give women sense of belonging, they should change the offices of first ladies to ‘women national president or state women presidents’ where all interested women could contest.

“What if a bachelor becomes a president, who will be his first lady? And what if a woman emerges as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who will occupy the exalted office of the first lady? He asked.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of SABSO, Zaraen Baban Takko, explained that the visit was aimed at showing solidarity to the family of the first  democratic Nigerian leader and to celebrate the independence day with them.

He said they had been paying such visit to the family on October 1 every year.

The organisation had during the visit, donated 200 exercise books to the members of the family as their Independence day gift.