Kogi state governor's wives fight over "Office Of The First Lady"

As Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello battles the myriad of problems in the state, he might have to contend with another at home as two of his wives are fighting one another over the office of the governor's wife.


He has been in office for less than 100 days but the office of the first lady has been occupied by his second wife Hajiya Rashida Bello, but the first wife Bar. Mrs Amina Bello is claiming to be the legal occupant of the controversial office.

The inability of the governor to choose the first wife to occupy the position among his wives appears to be affecting the operations of the office of the First Lady in the state.

Bar. Mrs Amina Bello accompanied the governor during his pre-election campaign tours. Sources said the governor had earlier planned to appoint Bar. Mrs Amina as the first lady considering her contributions to his campaign but was at a crossroad after the visible closeness of Hajia Rashida Bello to women at the grassroots came to light, especially her robust relationships with the mallams and locals in the state.

A source in the governor’s office told the Vanguard News that after the swearing -in of the governor, he instructed that the letter headed paper for the office of the first lady should be printed for Bar. Mrs Amina Bello
"But after His Excellency travelled to Abuja and returned, he change his mind and directed that the letter headed paper for the office of the first lady should be printed for his second wife Hajiya Rashida Bello and the decision is now generating tension in the family."

The situation is getting messier by the day as an instruction last month to the duo to proceed to the government house and choose their accommodation wing degenerated into a fisticuff between Bar. Mrs Amina and Hajiya Rashida

A source who was present when the physical fight started said that it took the timely intervention of security aides to restrain the warring governor’s wives.
Some top government functionaries that commented on the first lady crisis advised the governor to appoint the wife of the deputy governor as the first lady, since he is afraid to offend his wives by appointing one of them as the first lady.

Already the Kogi first lady tussle has started raising dusts. Women groups are sharply divided and have arrayed themselves in different camps with each group struggling to outwit the other.

Some unanswered questions raised by the issue include: Who among the two wives will be a member of the governors' wives' forum?
Concerned Kogi State women are appealing to the governor to resolve the crisis on time, in order to enable women groups in the state to operate under one umbrella with only one leader as the first lady of the state.

According to a respectable woman in the state, “ Bar. Mrs Amina is the first wife, she struggled with the governor when there was nothing, she has always been in the fore front of her husband’s campaign.

“ She is familiar with the terrain in Kogi and the locals feel at home with her, so there’s no way she won’t play the role of first lady in the state”.

“What Governor Bello needs to do is to sit with his wives and resolve the issue amicably for the interest of Kogi women. I also appeal to wives of the governor to sheath their swords on the ongoing saga over the first lady slot”, Hajiya Mustapha concluded.

Source Ebiravabe.comhttp://www.ebiravabe.com/2016/04/bellos-wives-at-war-over-office-of.html