The visit of the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Mrs.
Patience Jonathan, to Edo State, was on Saturday disrupted
when some men, suspected to be aggrieved youths of the
Peoples Democratic Party, pulled down some banners bearing
the image of the First Lady, at the Samuel Ogbemudia
Stadium in Benin, the state capital.
Mrs. Jonathan was in the state to drum support from Edo
women for her husband’s re-election campaign.
It was learnt that the men climbed the fence where the
banners were placed and began to pull them down as soon as
it was time for the First Lady to deliver her address.
Irked by what they termed to be an attempt to mar the visit
of the President’s wife, some youths and policemen dressed in
branded T-shirts, bearing the Transformation Ambassadors of
Nigeria logo, accosted the men.
It was in the process of a brewing brawl that some policemen,
drafted to the venue of the rally to provide security, whisked
them away in a police vehicle.
The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Chris Nehikhare,
said he had no doubt that the perpetrators were sympathisers
of the All Progressives Congress.
He claimed that none of the youths who had turned out for
the event would carry out the act, adding that the party would
investigate further.
Nehikhare said, “I am sure they were APC people. No PDP
youth will be aggrieved to the extent of pulling down the First
Lady’s posters; every PDP youths love the First Lady.
“But I will investigate to find out and let you know tomorrow
(Sunday).”
Speaking at the event, Mrs. Jonathan insisted that her
husband would remain in office for another term.
She was accompanied by national and state leaders of the
party.
Women, drawn from different support groups across the state,
had turned out for the event as early as 9am. They, however,
began to leave the stadium at about 1.30pm, when Mrs.
Jonathan arrived at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium venue of
the rally.
Unable to bear the scorching heat, two women fainted but
were later revived by a medical team provided by the party.
The President’s wife said the presidency had been occupied
for eight years by other geopolitical zones and asked why the
South-South should be denied the opportunity.
She added that the Jonathan administration had performed
creditably in various sectors such as transport and education.
She said, “In Nigeria, I saw a train last when I was very
young; I was still in the primary school. But today, we can see
the train is moving.
“Everybody stayed there for eight years. Now it is our turn; so,
we must complete our eight years because God has ordained
it. We will complete our two tenures; we will hand over.”
Mrs. Jonathan described the postponed visit of the wife of the
APC presidential candidate, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, earlier
scheduled for Saturday at the same venue, as a plot by the
opposition to foment trouble.
She also challenged her critics, who had accused her of
corruption, even when, according to her, no “budget or
constitutional right” was accorded to the Office of the First
Lady.
“Tomorrow, they will say ‘Mrs. Jonathan is corrupt.’ Through
where is she corrupt? I don’t have any budget attached to my
office. Go and probe me and see whether there is any budget
attached to my office. I don’t touch your money. Whatever I
have, I worked for it,” she added.