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Pulse presents a list, profiling the wives of the frontline presidential candidates.
After the three most popular parties carried out their primaries for the presidential elections, one thing is certain; Nigeria’s next president could (arguably) come from the Labour Party, the All Progressive Congress, and the People’s Democratic Party.
If truly every great man, has a neck (wife) steering the direction of the head, it is then important to know who would be directing the internal affairs of the next president of Nigeria.
Pulse presents a list, profiling the wives of the frontline presidential candidates.
Margaret is the wife of Peter Obi, the flagbearer for the Labour Party, in the 2023 presidential election. Obi’s wife is a native of Onna, Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, but married into Anambra state in 1992.
She is a Philanthropist and Businesswoman who is also known for her fierce devotion to women empowerment and child protection activities. During her husband’s tenure as Anambra State governor, she facilitated the distribution of equipment grants to women cooperatives that are engaged in dry season farming.
She promoted their access to factors of production and enhanced their capacity to support their families. Margaret also facilitated the establishment of Family Courts in the state’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (MWAPD) to deal with issues of child abuse and violation of women’s rights especially widows’ right to inheritance.
Oluremi Tinubu is married to the presidential candidate representing the All Progressive Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Oluremi is a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God. She is from Ogun State and is also the former first lady of Lagos State.
As a first lady, she established the New Era Foundation, dedicated to establishing centres for “all round development of young ones and promote public awareness on environmental health and community service.
Currently, Remi is a senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District at the Nigerian National Assembly.
She was one of over 100 senators elected in the 8th assembly in 2015. Six of these were women. The others were Stella Oduah and Uche Ekwunife, who both represent Anambra, Fatimat Raji Rasaki, Rose Okoji Oko and Binta Garba.
At the 2019 general elections, she retained her senatorial seat representing Lagos Central, making it her third tenure in office.
Senator Tinubu proposed a bill to reform the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to make it a more viable entity. She also received the award for bthe most impactful female senator at The Guardian-organized International Women’s Day Summit 2021.
Amina Titilayo Atiku-Abubakar is one of the three wives of former vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar. She served as the second lady from 1999 to 2007.
Amina was born into a Christian home to the Albert family, a Yoruba family from Ilesa, Osun state. In 1971, she married Atiku Abubakar, then a young customs officer, before becoming a lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic.
Apart from English, she speaks Yoruba and Hausa languages fluently. She converted from Christianity to Islam.
While in Rome to further her education in 1986 and 1987, she saw many Nigerian girls on the street. After making an inquiry, she realized that many of the girls served as prostitutes for their madams, and quite often were not paid.
She also found out that they were deceived with promises to work in Italy, and this prompted her to pledge to combat such incidences upon her return.
In 1999, when her husband, Atiku became Nigeria’s vice president, she started an advocacy to end forced prostitution and other forms of human trafficking.
First, she founded Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) and then sponsored a private bill for strict punishment for traffickers, and for the establishment of a federal agency, the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons responsible for fighting the trafficking of persons in Nigeria.
She also ran education courses focused on welcoming and rehabilitating girls repatriated from different countries back home to Nigeria.
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