According to a report by CNN, as covered by ISNA, Buhari�s blatantly sexist remark came during a Berlin news conference with one of the world�s most powerful women, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

�I don�t know which party my wife belongs to but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room,� said the president, whose popularity at home has plummeted amid a deep recession.

Buhari was responding to a BBC interview in which his wife, Aisha, a businesswoman and activist, questioned his leadership and suggested she may not back his re-election bid unless he shakes up his government.

Buhari told reporters that he can �claim superior knowledge over her and the rest of the opposition� after running for president three times and succeeding on his fourth attempt.

There was no immediate reaction from Merkel, who is called a Machtfrau � a woman of power � in Germany for managing to reach the top as an outsider in a male-dominated world.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu later took to Twitter to dismiss Buhari�s comments as �banter.�

�Politics sometimes should be spiced with humour,� he tweeted. �Those of us around him know there is never a dull moment with him.�

Shehu tweeted that the fact that a woman, Kami Adeosun, holds one of Nigeria�s most sensitive government posts as finance minister, was evidence of Buhari�s confidence in women.

But critics took to social media to denounce Buhari�s sexist remarks.

By IFP