Nigeria's First Lady issues warning to the President

Aisha Buhari, the First Lady of Nigeria, has warned her husband she may not support him at the next election unless he shakes up his government.

Speaking to the BBC, Buhari alleged that her husband, Muhammadu, who became president last year, "does not know" most of the top officials who have been appointed.

She also claimed the government had been hijacked and that a "few people" were behind presidential appointments, giving posts to people who did not share the vision of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Muhammadu Buhari came to power following a campaign in which he promised to tackle corruption and nepotism in government. "I belong to nobody and belong to everybody," he said during his inauguration.

However, his wife told the broadcaster: "The President does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed and I don't know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years."

She refused to identify those who she claimed had hijacked the government, but said: "You will know them if you watch television."

As to whether her husband was in charge: "That is left for the people to decide," she said.

Muhammadu Buhari has not yet decided whether he will stand in the next election in 2019, but his wife said she that unless things change, "I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before - I will never do it again".

The President reportedly sent a letter to the BBC's bureau in Abuja asking the agency not to air the interview.