The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DAME PATIENCE JONATHAN

  • Bayelsa youths: Dickson’s, First Lady’s relationship cordial

    Bayelsa youths: Dickson’s, First Lady’s relationship cordial

    A socio-political group, Bayelsa Youth for Peace Initiatives and Good Governance, has warned political office seekers and their supporters against heating up the polity.

    The group, which expressed dismay over the “frosty relationship” between Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, over 2015-2016 elections, threatened to mobilise against politicians “fanning the embers of discord”.

    A statement yesterday in Abuja by BYP President Charles Ebi said there was a cordial relationship among President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife and Dickson.

    The statement said: “Governor Dickson is a notable member of the Green Movement, President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation, when he was Bayelsa State governor.

    “Also, when he was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Dickson was among the leading campaigners for the enthronement of President Jonathan as Acting President and his subsequent elevation as President.

    “At different fora, the governor made it clear to the people his love and support for President Jonathan and his family. Recently, Dickson, as a leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, led other party members to endorse the President for the second term.

    “As a true democrat, he has warned the people against politics of name-dropping, blackmail and propaganda, arguing that it is against democratic norms. Leadership is about service delivery, not name-dropping, as we are experiencing in the state.

    “As far as we are concerned, there is no problem between the governor and the wife of the President. The purported rift between the President’s wife and Governor Dickson is the handiwork of mischief makers and political jobbers, who are hell-bent in disrupting the prevailing peace and stability in the state.

    “As true Ijaw sons and daughters, we do not believe in washing our dirty linen in the public. If there are issues at all, which is highly in doubt, we know how to address them without breaching the peace and creating chaos all over the place…”

  • A ‘divorce’ long expected

    A ‘divorce’ long expected

    Patience dumps Dickson as the scales finally fall from the eyes of the ‘romantic pair of lovers’

    Like all such ‘marriages of convenience’, the political alliance between Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, finally collapsed like a pack of cards on October 23. I cannot say precisely when the ‘romance’ started. But not many would doubt that it was initiated by the governor, who must have felt he needed the First Family’s support to realise his political ambition. It was in furtherance of this objective that the governor appointed Mrs Jonathan as a “super” permanent secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service in July 2012, barely five months after his inauguration. She was one of the 17 persons so appointed. Expectedly, the appointment caused outrage in the country, with many people expressing misgivings about it and the extent to which the civil service had been politicised, because, clearly, such appointment is injurious to the civil service, which is supposed to be the engine room of governance in the state.

    Without doubt, it was an abuse of privilege which did not make sense in a place like Nigeria. What would the wife of the President of Nigeria do with the ‘peanut’ that a permanent secretary (super or ordinary) earns monthly, compared to the unlimited pork in the care of public office holders here? May be elsewhere, where public servants, including the president, are closely monitored to ensure that they do not have access to more than belong to them from the public till, such peanut could amount to something; definitely not here where public functionaries can spend and all we would do is keep wondering who appropriated the money for them and when?

    But Governor Dickson, like most public officers in the country defended the appointment; he even quoted the constitution to support his decision. The governor probably would have quoted another section of the constitution to support himself or even quote the same section upside down if he did not want to do what he did. The point I am making is that deep down in his heart, the governor knew he made the appointment due more to political exigency, even if he was not willing to admit that much.

    Mrs Jonathan’s resignation has however confirmed what many of us have always known about such ‘marriages of convenience’. Once the scales fall from the eyes of at least one of the lovers (which is more than enough requirement for a ‘divorce’) the ‘wedlock’ collapses. Since it takes two to tango, and since, as the late Chief Moshood Abiola once said, one cannot clap with one hand, the collapse of the ‘unholy wedlock’ was only a matter of time. That time came on Thursday.

    Those who feel the resignation might be to pave way for others to climb in the civil service must have got it all wrong. Since when did the First Lady realise that her appointment was blocking others from making progress, after all, she was appointed more than two years ago? Secondly, how can only one space given to her be the obstruction on the part of those deserving elevation in the state civil service? At any rate, what would it cost the state government to create offices for the deserving even where none ever existed; after all, again, there is a precedent already? For sure, Governor Dickson would gladly have created other offices if that had been the problem. So, that excuse certainly, does not hold water. Moreover, at 57, the First Lady still has at least three more years to go, given the retirement age in the state civil service pegged at 60. Why then would she be in a hurry to leave the system?

    In essence therefore, the only plausible reason that could be adduced for her resignation is that she felt she has bided her time enough and it is now time for her to come out of her shell which she had recoiled into a few months back, following persistent bashings she received online after the now famous blood that they are sharing (shedding) saga. Mrs Jonathan ‘s running battles with the governor have been in the news for long; apparently it has got to a point where she can no longer stay in her shell if she is to stop the governor’s reelection bid. Already, according to reports, she has her eyes on Waripamowei Dudafa, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs. Dudafa, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Bayelsa State appears the only man that President Jonathan and former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha can trust and are therefore likely to back for the state governorship election in 2016. It would appear therefore, that Dame Jonathan is in charge of that flank for the election, apparently to allow the president concentrate on other areas that might not want to capitulate to the almighty ‘federal might’ in the coming elections.

    We cannot also forget that Mrs Jonathan is a veteran of political battles. Her issue with Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is still fresh in mind. She bared her mind on the rift with Amaechi to 16 bishops from the south-south geopolitical zone who visited the Presidential Villa in July, last year. According to her, “This matter started as far back as four years ago at Anyugubiri in Okrika when I begged him not to demolish a part of Okrika but (that he should) dialogue first with the people. After that incident, he called the chairman of Okrika (local government) and sacked him for holding a reception in our honour; that boy was the first victim. He also put my people on curfew for nine months. I called him and pleaded with him but he refused. Then I began to hear all sorts of propaganda in the media against me; this is not the way …”

    It is a long story but the kernel is that Governor Amaechi stood his ground from the beginning to the end. No doubt he paid some price for that because his state was nearly made ungovernable by the powers-that-be. It could not have been worse for Governor Dickson if he had followed a similar course that is almost certain he would have to pursue now that the president’s wife is almost set to go for his jugular. The governor must have realised, perhaps belatedly, that there are some people like that who can hardly be pleased once they have made up their minds or have their minds made up for them. But my own take is that what the governor cannot tolerate as a big man, he should have been rejecting even when he was poor.

    Mrs Jonathan has by her resignation confirmed the saying that the cane that was used to whip the first wife (Timipre Sylva in this instance) was never thrown away; it was merely hidden in the ceiling. Now that they have need for it again, they are going to retrieve it.

    This however is contrary to what Mrs Jonathan told the visiting bishops on Amaechi’s matter because; at a time in her speech to them, she went scriptural. At another, she went philosophical. Hear her: “… I pray that God touches Amaechi’s heart as per his hot temper because when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers …  Hebrews 12:14 urges us to embrace peace with all men without which; we cannot see God. Amaechi is my son; I cannot fight him, and I cannot kill him”. And the philosophical: “He shouldn’t be used by outsiders against his own blood because this seat is vanity. “One day, no matter how long it takes; we will leave this seat. Power is not forever”. Got the contradiction between words and deed?

    Anyway, all said, whether the forces against the governor would prevail or not is difficult to predict, but what may not be is the fact that even the Dudafa that they reportedly prefer today is coming to have the same comeuppance. It is only a matter of time for today’s lucky man to realise that he cannot please his political godfathers. Once upon a time, Dickson was the anointed child with whom they were well pleased. As things stand, the governor must realise that he has a lot to contend with. If Dame Jonathan could treat Amaechi whom she referred to as her “son” the way she did, then Dickson who is not her “son” should know what to expect. But, like all those who rode to power on the back of the tiger, he needs more than his present tough posture not to end up in the tiger’s belly, and to win the battle ahead. If the matter is about wars and chariots, he needs no soothsayer to tell him he is not in contention. He would be fought on all fronts – land, air and sea.

  • First Lady resigns appointment as Bayelsa ‘super’ Perm Sec

    First Lady resigns appointment as Bayelsa ‘super’ Perm Sec

    The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has resigned her appointment as a “Super” Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service.

    It was gathered that the resignation followed  alleged  final breakdown in relationship between the First Lady and the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    Dickson had in July 2012, five months after his inauguration appointed  Patience Jonathan, as one of the 17 new permanent secretaries in the state civil service.

    Dickson said the appointment of the First Lady as a permanent secretary was based on the power conferred on him by Section 203 of the constitution.

    He further said it was in recognition of her services to the state and nation, adding that she was a directorate level officer in the civil service.

    Sources from the Ministry of Education said the 57-year-old Patience Jonathan left the service voluntarily.

    One of the sources who pleaded anonymity said the First Lady in her letter of resignation opted for voluntary retirement.

    He said the ministry had computed and finalised her terminal benefits already.

    When asked the total amount of her terminal benefits, he said: “Well I don’t know. All I can tell you is that everything has been processed.

    “The whole thing is political. It appears Madam Peace is not happy with the governor. With her resignation, the battle line has been drawn.

    “I feel the President’s wife resigned to enable her to have the moral right to slug it out with Dickson ahead of the governorship poll in the state. Let no one deceive you, the whole thing is politics. After all, she is 57 and the retirement age is 60.”

    The wife of the President has a National Certificate of Education in Mathematics/Biology, which she obtained in 1989 from the Rivers State College of Education.

    She also has a degree in Biology and Psychology (Education) from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    When contacted, Chief Salo Adikumo, who resigned during the week as Commissioner for Education, said he was no longer the commissioner.

    He said: “I resigned recently as commissioner to enable me to pursue my political ambition. Please direct all your enquiries to the Ministry, ” he said.

    But, a senior official of the ministry confirmed the development and said it was true the First Lady resigned.

    The official, who pleaded anonymity for fear of victimisation, dismissed political reasons for her resignation.

    He said: “I can say Dame Patience Jonathan has voluntarily retired. But whether there is political undertone in her resignation, I cannot say.

    “I think the First Lady felt that her continued stay as Permanent Secretary will be depriving others. Now that she has thrown in the towel, it will afford others the opportunity to take her position.

    “Already, in accordance with the civil service rules, we have prepared all her entitlements. Whatever is due her will be given to her. She will also be receiving her pension.”

  • FG commences distribution of 230,000 bags of fertiliser

    FG commences distribution of 230,000 bags of fertiliser

    RURAL farmers across the nation will benefit from over 230,000 bags of fertilizers, the federal government has announced.

    The distribution has already commenced in different states.

    Speaking in Abuja during the flag-off of the initiative, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan said: “What you see here is only symbolic as distribution is already being done in phases using the logistic network of the Cellulant Group that removes middlemen and ensures these bags of fertilizers reach the intended beneficiaries.”

    She charged all beneficiaries to take advantage of the opportunity to generate sustainable income and create wealth.

    While making case for the farmers, Mrs. Jonathan said: “I make bold to inform you that this event is long overdue, as we should regularly motivate our farmers for greater productivity.

    “I consider it an honour to be present here with the people that matter: those who toil and cultivate our land thereby feeding us and improving our economy.”

    Acknowledging efforts of the farmers, she said: “The task of tilling the ground and producing agricultural products is a difficult one especially in our context where resources are limited, where mechanised farming is uncommon, where storage facilities are scarce and where farmers do not get the needed support that they deserve.

    “In the face of all the constraints they face, our farmers have stayed the course and have been consistently dutiful in their chosen vocation.”

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), Dr. Precious Gbeneol said: “The significant thing about this distribution is that in previous years, farmers were getting fertilizers they paid for but these ones, they did not pay for it.

    “They are not paying for this fertilizers, the federal government is giving them to enhance their produce free. The direct farmers will get it. It is going on in the 36 states of the country including FCT.”

    Gbeneol noted that the government is using the Cellulant group as distribution channel to reduce leakages and ensure that crucial farm inputs get to farmers in timely manner.

    She also disclosed that Nigeria has been able to meet over 50% nutritional needs of the country through various government agricultural initiatives.

  • First Lady leads Awka pro-Jonathan rally

    First Lady leads Awka pro-Jonathan rally

    •Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu govs absent 

    THE Governors of Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States were conspicuously absent yesterday at the Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, during the For Jonathan’s (4J) Political rally in Anambra State.

    The rally, attended by First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, was sponsored by the oil mogul, Prince Arthur Eze, which was also used to empower the widows of South East political zone.

    Some of the items presented to the widows by the wife of the President, Dame Jonathan, included sewing machines, garri grinding machines, tomatoes grinding machines, hair driers, trailer loads of rice, beans, soaps, among others.

    Although the former governor of Anambra State, Chief Peter Obi’s absence was not explained, his wife Margret was, however, in attendance. Also, the wives of the governors of Abia, Ebonyi and Delta States showed up at the 4J rally.

    However, the Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano and his wife, Ebelechukwu, led other dignitaries to the crowded rally yesterday.

    They included, Senator Andy Uba, Margery Okadigbo, Nkechi Wogu, Minister of labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha.

    Others were former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Josephine Anenih, Kema Chikwe, the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter Party Affairs, Senator Ben Ndi Obi.

    Also, in attendance were the  Anambra State House of Assembly Speaker, Chinwe Nwaebili, wife of the Deputy Senate President Nnena Ekweremadu, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the Anambra State Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, former Anambra State Governor, Dame Virgy Etiaba.

    Others were the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, oil magnate, Ifeanyi Ubah, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, amongst others.

    Some of them who spoke with The Nation yesterday said nothing was given to them in such a big rally that drew the highest crowd in the history of rallies in the state.

    Speakers, including Sen. Ben Ndi Obi, state First Ladies, Odochi Orji of Abia, Josephine Elechi of Ebonyi, Roly Uduaghan of Delta, Ebelechukwu Obiano of Anambra all praised the philanthropic gesture of Mrs. Jonathan and Arthur Eze.

    However, Dame Patience Jonathan harped on the need to have peace in Nigeria despite political leanings.

    She commended Eze for supporting the widows with his For Jonathan (4J)Project in collaboration with her project Women for Change Initiative in South-East zone.

    She also thanked the people of South-East for believing in her husband since 2011 and urged them to give him support in 2015 presidential election, explaining that her husband had promised to improve the South-East roads and the erosion menace ravaging the area.

    The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano said despite the endorsement of President Jonathan by his state and South-East for 2015, that his party, APGA, will contest all the seats in the zone except the presidency during the general elections.

  • Boko Haram: First Lady drums support for Army

    Boko Haram: First Lady drums support for Army

    The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has called for support for the Nigerian Army in its fight against Boko Haram insurgents.

    Mrs Jonathan spoke yesterday in Abuja when she hosted children during the Children’s Day celebration at the State House.

    She also appealed to the members of Boko Haram to release the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

    Mrs Jonathan said: “This is the time for us Nigerians to put our differences aside and, with unity of purpose, fight terrorism.

    “We should encourage our soldiers who are in the frontline to rescue our beloved daughters. Our men are defending you and me. We should pray for them and encourage them.

    “Some of them have died  in serving their fatherland. Why can’t we join them in prayers at this period?”

    The First Lady noted that it was bad to speak ill of the leaders of the country and the service men.

    “God has commanded us to pray for them. Therefore, it is our responsibility,  as citizens, to pray, especially for the development of the nation,’’ Mrs Jonathan said.

    She urged the children to pray for the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls because it was their right to be educated.

    The First Lady urged the children to be ambassadors of peace and pledged her continued commitment to ensure that peace reigned in the country.

    The Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina, said the celebration was devoid of fanfare because the First Lady was sensitive to the situation in the country.

    The minister urged the children to pray for the abducted girls, whom  she called “their sisters”, for God to touch the hearts of the abductors to release them.

    Also, the Special Assistant to the President on Youth Matters, Mr Jude Imagwe, said President Goodluck Jonathan, was committed to the welfare , education and protection of the youth.

    The presidential aide urged pupils to go to school and be educated to become better citizens and contribute to the development of the country.

    The highpoint of the event was a session by members of the Children’s Parliament on the security situation in the country with special focus on the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

    The   parliament said the demand by the insurgents for the exchange of the abducted girls for their  members in government’s custody was unacceptable.

    Also, the members presented the First Lady with a banner, with the inscription: “Boko Haram Release Our Sisters”.

     

     

  • The other side of First Lady

    The other side of First Lady

    To unravel the seeming confusion on whether the reported abduction of over 200 secondary schoolgirls of Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State was real or part of political antics in the state, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan joined in the investigation a fortnight ago.

    To carry out the investigation, she invited key actors in the Chibok saga to the Presidential Villa, Abuja. And to assist her in the investigation were wives of state governors, women opinion leaders, leaders of key women organisation and relevant women stakeholders.

    Before the key actors present at the meeting started answering questions that the gathering was not a law court, she said: “We are not asking you questions to kill you, or to harm you or to send you to court; we are not judges. But it is just to help to unravel the truth and to stop the killing in Borno State because our hearts are heavy. We want to help you and we want you to sincerely answer our questions. If you don’t know the answer, say so and we will end it there. Nothing we can do.”

    The First Lady, who also prefers to be called “Mama Peace” broke down and wept twice during the over eight hours meeting that started at 6:02 p.m. on Sunday, May 4 and ended at 2:13 a.m. on May 5, 2014.

    She broke down the first time when she realised that some major actors in the saga from the state did not turn up for the meeting.

    While there have been divided opinions on whether she actually wept out of emotion or premeditated to weep in front of the cameras to attract sympathy for her husband, as someone who sat throughout the meeting, it was a struggle between the Channels TV cameraman, Elder George Edemevughe and other cameramen filming that aspect of the meeting as some staff of the First Lady attempted to shut down the cameras.

    Her weeping was also infectious as some women seated round the table in the First Lady’s Conference Room could not hold back their tears.

    The intent of this write-up is not to ascertain whether the tears were real or fake. It is also not to justify the probe or otherwise. And it is also no longer in doubt whether the abduction of over 200 secondary school girls was real or mere politics as Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau on Monday last week, released video clip showing the girls in his custody.

    Besides the weeping during the First Lady’s investigation, the probe also showed some humorous part of Mama Peace, even though she expressed bitterness in some instances. Some of those in the meeting couldn’t help laughing at her remarks most times. She may not really mind how the message is conveyed, but what matters to her is getting the message across.

    When she realised that the Principal of the school, Asabe Kwaburah, did not come with any teacher, matron or the school’s gateman to help in the investigation, the First Lady asked: Na only u waka come? (Meaning “You came alone?”).

    During the question-and-answer session when the principal insisted that the school was a standard school and as she was having difficulty responding to questions, Mrs. Jonathan said: “Madam, see tissue, if you are sweating, take tissue and clean your sweat. Clean your sweat well so that you can answer our questions.” This attracted laughter from the gathering.

    Faulting non-relocation of the entire students in line with the advice of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) before the girls’ abduction and the following relocation of the remaining students after the attack, she said: “It is now that you relocated the children after the kidnap. That is medicine after death. Why did you not relocate them to that place at the first instance if that place is safer?”

    When there were conflicting figures of students who registered and sat for some subjects in the school from the WAEC official and the Principal, the First Lady, with her calculator in hand, told the Principal: “Madam, what you are telling us here now is not Mathematics. Is it that we have gone out of Algebra and Mathematics? We are in another world because what you are telling us is not feasible again. Do you register differently from WAEC? Do you have your own marking scheme?”

    Turning to journalists at the meeting, she said: “Members of the press are you people with us in this Mathematics lecture?”

    Tired with the irreconcilable figures from the Principal, she told other women at the gathering: “I beg make una ask una questions and leave the woman. Let us not continue to waste our time on one woman matter.”

    At a point when the meeting was becoming rowdy and several persons speaking at the same time, the First Lady said: “If we didn’t permit you to talk, we will send you out. We are in the Villa. We are not here for demonstration, we are peaceful people.

    We are begging you operatives of the State Security Service (SSS), anyone that makes unwarranted noise, please help us take her out.”

    These were very few instances when the gathering couldn’t help but laugh during the meeting.

  • First lady seeks actualisation of 35 per cent affirmative action in states

    First lady seeks actualisation of 35 per cent affirmative action in states

    First lady Dame Patience Jonathan on Tuesday charged state governors to actualise the 35 per cent affirmative action to reduce gender inequality.

    Jonathan gave the charge when she inaugurated coordinators for the Nasarawa State chapter of Women for Change and Development Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) initiated by her.

    Represented by Rabi Ibrahim, National Coordinator of the NGO, Jonathan said the organisation was non-profit and non-partisan, but a gender focused movement.

    She reiterated that the goal of the organisation was to achieve the 35 per cent affirmative action, eradicate poverty, empower vulnerable women and improve girl child education in the country.

    “Our organisation is aimed at creating awareness, sensitising and empowering Nigerian women at all levels,” she said.

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura in his remark restated his administration’s commitment toward gender equality in the state.

    Al-Makura said that women empowerment was focal and critical area of his administration transformation agenda.

    He said that government had taken steps toward the actualisation of the 35 per cent affirmative action through the appointment of a female Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    He challenged other state governments to follow suit, saying “whoever appoints a woman SSG is a true advocate of gender equality”.

    The governor appreciated the first lady in championing the rights of women through the NGO, saying that her efforts had also been felt in other parts of Africa.

    The wife of the governor, Hajia Salamatu Al-Makura, said the project was to promote affirmative action to enable women participate actively in the economic, social and political activities in the country.

    She urged the new coordinators to tackle issues concerning women such as sexual abuse, child labour and girl-child education.

    Those inaugurated include coordinators from the three senatorial districts, two coordinators each from the 13 local government areas and 2,978 unit coordinators in the state

  • Jonathan’s wife honours friends of women

    Jonathan’s wife honours friends of women

    As part of the events marking this year’s International Women’s Day, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has honoured some “women-friendly leaders” of the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Presenting the awards yesterday on behalf of the First Lady, the State Coordinator of the Women for Change and Development Initiative, Chief (Mrs) Abosede Ogunleye, said the awardees were chosen after a careful appraisal of their support for women.

    Among the award recipients were former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Alhaji Rafiu Ogunleye; Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee, PDP, South West, Prince Buruji Kashamu; Chairman, Elders Council, PDP, Ogun State, Alhaji Agboola Alausa; State PDP Chairman, Engr. Adebayo Dayo; former acting Zonal Secretary, Chief ‘Pegba Otemolu; PDP chieftain, Chief Tunde Olowu; State PDP Secretary, Alhaji Semiu Sodipo; party stalwart, Chief Zacchaeus Oyekunle and governorship aspirant, Kayode Amusan, among others.

    Kashamu, who spoke for the recipients, thanked the organisers of the event for the honour. He donated N1million and three cars to the organisation.

    He also announced the donation of office space to the organisation within the premises of the Goodluck Jonathan Political Centre, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State.

  • Wike berates critics of First Lady’s honorary Degree

    The Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike has  faulted critics of  the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan over the honorary doctorate degree conferred on her by a University in South Korea.

    The Minister said the criticism were “not only out of place, but bereft of common sense”.

    Those opposing the award had claimed that it was ill-timed and improper for the First Lady to receive such award when universities in the Nigeria were shut down because of strike action by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Wike on Sunday  maintained that there was nothing wrong with the action of the First Lady as long as it was the university that decided to extend such gesture to her.

    He stressed that the award was in recognition of the First Lady’s humanitarian services and in particular, her efforts in fighting cyber crimes.

    He said: “One will not necessarily bother himself because most of these critics do not understand how governance operate.”

    “The mere fact that ASUU is not on campus, does not mean all activities of government would be grounded.”

    “It does not also mean that other staff of the universities are not working. They are working; the only thing is that academic activities are not taking place.”

    Wike continued: “So, if other institutions all over the world want to honour the first lady for her contribution to mankind, I do not see anything wrong with that.”

    “That ASUU is on strike does not mean all universities are on strike. University of Illorin is a public university but they are not on strike.”

    “There are also other private universities in this country. So, to me such criticism is completely out of place; it does not make any sense,” he stated.

    He also appealed to the ASUU members to shift ground on their demands, just like the way government had done, in order to end the four months strike.

    He noted that the demands the staff are demanding from government had been there for over 20 years.

    Stressing that it was impossible for the government to fully fund the tertiary institutions, he advocated for financial autonomy for the universities.
    “We agree; ASUU is making some demands that would have improved on what we have in the universities. But, government is saying that in as much as we agree with you, these problems that had been there for over 20 years cannot be solved within two to three years. It is not possible and they should appreciate what government has done.”

    “Mind you, the fund that government is releasing has nothing to do with the TETFUND fund. So, if you put all together, you will find out that government is now spending at least N200billion to N300 billion every year, apart from the normal federal budget.” He stated