There’ll Be No Office of First Lady If I Become President — Sowore

Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has said there will be no official Office of the First Lady if he is elected president in the 2027 election.

Sowore stated this during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, arguing that the position of First Lady is not recognised by the Nigerian Constitution.

He said his presidency would not affect his marriage but maintained that his wife would not occupy any official position or office on the basis of his being president.

“There is no office of First Lady in the Nigerian Constitution. Becoming the president will not abolish my marriage, but I will not have the office of First Lady,” Sowore said.

The AAC candidate said women would continue to have a voice in his administration, but questioned the use of public funds to maintain an office he described as unconstitutional.

“Women will be heard, but I don’t believe that you need a first lady who is holding an unconstitutional position and just wasting money that is meant for progress and projects,” he said.

Sowore added that the policy would form part of his administration’s approach to reducing the cost of governance.

Sowore Promises to End Security Votes

Sowore also said his administration would seek to reduce the cost of governance and estimated that his proposed measures could save about N4 trillion.

He said tackling corruption would help free up public funds for development, while his administration would also end the practice of allocating security votes to state governors.

“We will stop security votes to governors. We will make this happen. Of course, it will require some constitutional changes so that the money that goes to the governor as a person can take care of the wage bill of the state,” he said.

Security votes are public funds made available to state governors for security-related and emergency purposes. Their administration and transparency have remained subjects of public debate.