Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, has lampooned rumour mongers over the orchestrated fake marriage between her and President Muhammadu Buhari in October.
The minister simply waved the rumour with the back of her hand saying it was a ploy by some persons to distract them from the work of governance.
News had gone viral in October that President Buhari and Farouq, a long time associate of his, were set to tie the nuptial knots in a high-profile ceremony in Northern Nigeria while the First Lady, Aisha Buhari was on holiday in London.
Farouq said: “Though I and the president are quite close, having worked closely with him for over 17 years all the while he contested and lost presidential elections, there had never been any romantic affair between us to warrant getting married.
“On the talk that I and President Buhari had plans to marry, it was a mere rumour and now we are beginning to understand where that emanated from.
“We were meant to be distracted but we have continued with our responsibilities as given by the President.
“I am not disputing the fact that I am close to President Buhari, having worked with him for this number of years but that talk was mere rumours.”
Speaking on a report that the President reprimanded her recently over claim that she runs her ministry like an empress, the minister said: “I operate an open door policy.
“No senior staff of the President was sent here to monitor us and at no time did anyone from the Presidency reprimand me for the activities of the ministry.
“I have a chief of staff who is a government worker. Of course I have people working for me, I cannot do it alone. We need people to support us.
“And at no time was there any intervention of the Presidency in the payment of N-Power beneficiaries. There is a system in place and it is being followed.
“The ministry is just coming up, and we are even trying to find a suitable office space. We are working as a team, all the staff are being deployed from various MDAs, and we are working as a team.
“We are developing a strategic roadmap for the ministry and looking at the existing laws for the agencies under the ministry, we are coming up with a policy framework; all these things take time.
“I have been working for President Muhammadu Buhari for the last 17 years, so I am not just coming to be part of this government. I have been part and parcel of the movement.”