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Tag: First Lady

  • First Lady: don’t pay any money to see President

    First Lady: don’t pay any money to see President

    First Lady Aisha Buhari has warned influence peddlers never to collect money from people who want to see the President.

    She spoke on Saturday night during “an appreciation dinner at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in honour of All Progressives Congress (APC) women and youths who played a major role in President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the March 28 election.

    She said: “There is nothing people did not say about the past administration. It is not Jonathan that is not good but the people around him.

    “So, the people that are going to be around President Buhari have to be very careful because this election ended peacefully.

    “We are praying and hoping that people around him should know that it took him 12 years to get to that position and they must know that they are coming to serve the masses, not President Buhari in person.

    “It is the people that are around him that will determine the political health of our state.”

    Stressing that the Buhari administration would run an open government, Mrs. Buhari said it would be run in clear departure from what obtained in the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration when people were allegedly asked to pay  money in foreign currency before they could see the President or his wife.

    She said: “I will like to inform you that in the past regime, whether it is true or false, only God knows, some people were going round and parading themselves as Personal Assistants.

    “If you wanted to see the First Lady, you would pay $30,000 or $50,000 and if you were seeing the President, you would pay all that you have gathered in your lifetime.

    “This will not happen in our regime. Whoever asks you to give a single penny in the name of coming to see the President or his wife is not our staff. He is not an APC member, it is a lie. Don’t be deceived.”

    Noting that she did not take part in the campaigns of her husband in the first three times he contested and failed, Mrs Buhari said her active participation in the last electioneering made the difference.

    According to her, APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu encouraged her to play an active role in the Buhari campaign.

    She said: “Many people did not know why I was not appearing for the last three campaigns. I appeared only this time and I think it made a lot of difference. A lot of people said my husband earned four million votes as a result of my campaign.

    “We were not sure but with the popularity of my husband, we thought then that he needed female support to cancel the all sorts of gender problems people have been attaching to him, like saying he kept me under a purdah.

    “He had never kept me under a purdah even for a moment since I got married to him.

    “Even now, by the recent campaigns, it was Bola Ahmed Tinubu who insisted that I should come out and support my husband. Not that I never liked supporting my husband but it all depended on the people around him; that was before.

    “And now too, it is the people around him that showed that they wanted me to participate. We did and we have seen the difference.”

    She said Buhari was the pillar of her success, despite the generation gap between the two of them, as he even encouraged her to go to school.

    “My husband is a gender-sensitive human being, having so many girls as his own biological children and then having me as a wife; you can see the generation gap. He allowed me to go to school. To cut the story short, he is the pillar of my success.”

    When Tinubu continued pestering her to join the campaign train, Mrs. Buhari said, she sought her husband’s approval.

    Mrs. Buhari first appeared at a rally in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    According to her, the greatest challenge she faced during the campaigns was security.

    She recounted how the wife of Zamfara State Governor told her how supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stopped their convoy from returning to Gusau, the state capital, up until 4am at a point.

    She said she had her own experience when she joined the campaign train to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    Former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who was the chairman of the event, thanked Mrs. Buhari and other women for making his job as the Director-General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Organisation easy.

    He recalled that before the President’s wife joined the campaign, some Nigerians were asking for her and after she joined their attention shifted to whether Buhari had a certificate or not.

    He said: “Before you (Mrs. Buhari) joined us, they were asking for his wife. When we presented his wife, they were asking for his certificate.

    “When we presented certificate, they said he was sick in London. Our president is strong and healthy. He visited 35 states during the election.

    “Thank you for your reply when they asked if women will want to go and give food to their husbands in prison. You made our jobs easier.

    I wish all women who took part in the campaign God’s blessing.”

    The National Women Leader of APC, Hajia Ramatu Tijani, advised the party leadership to ensure they deliver on the change they promised Nigerians.

    She said that the dinner was organised to appreciate those who made the change possible by touring all parts of the country to campaign for the party.

    She said: “This is the night for those who share our dream for change. It is for those who toiled across the country for victory. This event is meant to appreciate those who made the change possible.”

    Tinubu was represented by Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who read his brief remark titled: “This change is about women.”

    Others at the dinner included the Vice President’s wife Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo; Senate President Bukola Saraki’s wife, Toyin; wife of the House of Representatives  Speaker Yakubu Dogara’s wife, Gimbia and APC National Chairman’s wife, Victoria Odigie-Oyegun.

    Also at the dinner were wives of APC governors, APC female deputy governors; wives of former governors on the platform of the party and other top officials of the party across the country.

     

  • Mrs Buhari, Osinbajo call for women appointment

    Mrs Buhari, Osinbajo call for women appointment

    The wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, has appealed to governments at all levels to ensure fair representation of women in appointments.

    She made the appeal on Saturday night when she hosted Nigerian women and youths to an appreciation dinner for their support toward her husband’s victory in the last general election.

    The dinner held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Mrs Buhari expressed concern that the number of elected women in governance had reduced drastically in this new dispensation, saying that National and State Assemblies are the worst hit.

    “This is not fair; we are not asking for equal representation but fair representation in governance.

    “We must all make case for the fair representation of women and other challenges facing them especially the high rate of divorcees in the North and harmful widowhood practices in some part of the South East.

    The wife of the president expressed regret that the rate of divorce among young women is a major setback, stressing that something has to be done to check the trend.

    “Also, the issue of sexual harassment of female students in our tertiary institutions must be checked.” She called for the speedy implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act.

    Mrs Buhari also dispelled the rumour that she was kept in the purdah (Islamic seculation) by her husband during the last Presidential campaigns.

    She said it was her personal decision not to come out for campaign because she needed to take care of the home front while her husband was in the field campaigning.

    “It was Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who talked me into it before I decided to join the train. I have never been in purdah since I got married to my husband.

    “My husband is a very gender sensitive man with many daughters. He even allowed me to go to school and to cut the long matter short, he is the pillar of my success.”

    Also speaking, the wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, thanked the women for their support and urged them to continue to promote national unity.

    “Nigerians are people with strong faith; we as women must wake up and defend its unity. It is time for us to stop fragmenting this country; Nigeria needs something new. A new Nigeria means a new You,” Mrs Osinbajo said.

    Earlier, the APC Women Leader, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, said that the party leadership must ensure that they deliver on the change they had promised Nigerians.

    She said the dinner was meant to appreciate those who made the change possible by touring all parts of the country to campaign for the party’s victory.

    Former Rivers state governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, who was also the Director-General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Organisation, was the Chairman of the occasion.

    Other dignitaries were wife of the President of the Senate, Mrs Toyin Saraki; wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Gimbia Dogara.

    The rest were wife of the National Chairman of the APC, Mrs Victoria Odigie-Oyegun; wives of APC state governors and APC female deputy governors as well as wives of former governors.

    The APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was represented at the occasion by Sen. Babafemi Ojudu.

  • 10 most expensive wrist watches Nigerians may have

    10 most expensive wrist watches Nigerians may have

    How expensive can wrist watches be?

    First Lady, Aishat Buhari allegedly wore a N10million Cartier Baignoire Folle 18-Carat White Gold wrist watch which cost £34,500 (estimated at N10,453,000) during the inauguration of her husband  President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Neither the presidency nor Mrs. Buhari have refuted the claims, but there are indications that what Mrs Buhari had on was not the reported costly brand.

    Although cased in “18K rhodiumized white gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds, octagonal crown set with a diamond, sapphire crystal, Roman numerals, silvered satin-finished dial, 2 motifs lacquered and set with brilliant-cut diamonds, blued-steel sword-shaped hands”, the first lady’s watch was  not a Cartier Baignoire Folle 18-Carat White Gold wrist watch.

    Instead  the one she had on was  a Cartier Baignoire Folle Manual Watch priced at $129 (approximately N26,832 when converted at the rate of $1 to N208). Its strap is mainly a black semi-matt alligator-skin strap and an interchangeable “toile brossée” fabric strapwhich is opposed to the Cartier Baignoire Folle 18-Carat White Gold’s fabric strap.

    On Friday, June 5, it was reported that former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi’s  N11m  Rolex wrist watch was stolen by his houseboy.

    The houseboy also allegedly stole other luxury accessories valued at N9 m.

    Here is the world’s 10 most expensive wrist watches, some of which are more expensive than a Ferrari, which some Nigerians may have.

    1. The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication is from the German luxury watch brand A. Lange & Söhne.  Priced at approximately $2,497,000, this grand complication features a grand sonnerie and petit sonnerie in addition to a minute repeater, a monopusher chronograph with a split-seconds function and jumping seconds, and a perpetual calendar with a moon-phase display. According to WatchTime magazine, “it is the most expensive watch we’ve come across in recent years”.

    A. LANGE & SONHE Grand Complication 1
    A. LANGE & SONHE Grand Complication 1

    2. Richard Mille Tourbillon RM 56-02 Sapphire, combines a tripartite sapphire case with  the Richard Mille’srevolutionary “cabled movement” design, the Tourbillon Sapphire costs $2,020,000.

    Richard Mille Tourbillon-RM56-02 Sapphire
    Richard Mille Tourbillon-RM56-02 Sapphire

    3. Richard Mille RM 56-01,  features a distinctive, all-sapphire glass case, and is priced at $1.85 million.

    Richard Mille RM 56-01
    Richard Mille RM 56-01

    4. The Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1 is priced at approximately $1.6 million. It’s stand out feature is the nanosculpture by artist Willard Wigan in the crown. It also has an inclined tourbillon.

    Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1
    Greubel Forsey Art Piece 1

    5. Vacheron Constantin’s Tour de I’Ile was produced as a limited edition of only seven pieces to celebrate the brand’s 250th anniversary.  It has two faces (on the front and back) to make room for its many displays, including a second time zone, perpetual calendar, and sunset time indicator, among others. Priced at $1,538,160, it may be the most complicated serial timepiece on the list of watches over $1 million.

    Vacheron Constantin Tour de I’Ile
    Vacheron Constantin Tour de I’Ile

     

    6. Jaeger-LeCoulture Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie is retailed at $ 1,474,070. The watch boasts 1,300 parts, which make it capable of playing the entire Big Ben chiming sequence. According to WatchTime it was released in 2009 as part of the Hybris Mechanica 55 trilogy, a trio of very expensive watches that comprised 55 complications altogether.

    Jaeger-LeCoulture Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie
    Jaeger-LeCoulture Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie

    7. The Roger Dubuis’ Excalibur Quatuor. Its case is made entirely of silicon, and a material with half the weight of titanium and four times the hardness. The Excalibur Quatour equipped with the RD101 movement, is notable for its four sprung balances, which work in pairs to compensate for the effects of gravity much faster than a tourbillon would, resulting in a more accurate watch. It is priced at approximately $1,125,000.

    Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor
    Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor

     

    8. The Hublot Classic Fusion Haute Joaillerie “$1 Million,” is limited to only eight pieces. Its $1 million price tag comes with the 1,185 baguette diamonds covering every surface of the watch, from the case and bracelet to the open-worked dial. For the case alone, a 15-person team had to perform 1,800 hours of cutting and 200 hours of dimensional checking and quality control.

    Hublot Classic Fusion Haute Joaillerie “$1 Million
    Hublot Classic Fusion Haute Joaillerie “$1 Million

    9. Patek Philippe REF 5016P costs $762,000. Rounding out the Patek trinity is the Ref 5016P (where the P stands for platinum). This watch is the second most complicated that Patek has produced. The problem with watches of this caliber is the need for adjustments, but Patek has an app for that. If you keep this moon-phase, perpetual calendar, retrograde behemoth running continuously it won’t need adjusting until 2100.  Cool Material thinks it is something that your children’s children’s children will most certainly appreciate.

    Patek Philippe REF 5016P
    Patek Philippe REF 5016P

     

    10. The AP Royal Oak Grande Complication is priced at $560,000. Audemars Piquet (AP) grande complication has a perpetual calendar accurate until long after you will no longer be alive.  It has a lot of the same complications as the other watches (minute repeater, split seconds chronograph, aforementioned perpetual calendar) but presents them in a way that doesn’t require a thousand page instruction manual just to read.

    Additional information gotten from:

    WatchTime magazine

    Cool Material

    Cartier

    KoWatches

  • First Lady: strange ailment gone after Jonathan’s loss

    First Lady: strange ailment gone after Jonathan’s loss

    IT was an emotional valedictory service yesterday at the Aso Villa Chapel. President Goodluck Jonathan and the First Lady bade the congregation a moving farewell.

    Dame Patience Jonathan spoke on her health – she went through many surgeries, but a major one was called off because the ailment had disappeared immediately after her husband lost the presidential election. She did not disclose the nature of the ailment.

    Stressing that she was due for a major operation after the election, she said that tests carried out on her in four hospitals abroad showed that she was healthy and no longer required any operation.

    But Mrs Jonathan disclosed that she went through a major operation abroad in January during campaigns for her husband’s re-election.

    The First Lady, who was giving thanks to God at the Aso Villa Chapel, was grateful to God for making it possible for her and her husband to leave office hale and hearty.

    She said: “I really thank God for keeping me alive. He is a miraculous God. God is so wonderful in my life because people prophesied that one of us will not go back. But God has made it possible; two of us are going home healthy.

    “At the same time this year, when my husband was campaigning, that campaigning time was a trial for me. Satan came in again and those that know the former president and his wife, her corpse was carried out of this place. We thank God that I and my husband are going alive.

    “Thank God today we are parting alive and not with death. Our doors are open. This campaign period, devil struck and came in again. In pains I was rushed to the hospital in January and the doctors told me, ‘mama you have to go for major operation now now’. The campaign was still going on and I wondered how we were going to explain to Nigerians.

    “You know even when you go for check-up, they will be writing ‘in newspapers, saying all sorts of things. I went in for the first major operation in January ending. And by God’s grace I went for the operation and came out and it was from that operation that I went to the campaign ground. And they told me ‘mama, there is another bigger operation that you have to go in for’.”

    The congregation was quiet as Mrs Jonathan spoke.

    She went on: “This one will not be in this hospital. It is too small for this type of operation. You have to go to a bigger hospital and I said ‘ah aha’. I will go, I have faith in God. And that my God will see me through. He has brought me out for a purpose. I called my pastor to continue praying for me. They want me to be a sacrifice, but I will never be.

    “Then, do you know I went to the bigger hospital. I booked for the operation and I was asked to go for the campaign. They gave me a new date. I had paid for everything, remaining just to enter the theatre and the thing occurred to the hospital to check me again.

    “By then, my husband had lost the election. I have packed out of the Villa, we are about going. Behold! I went to four hospitals again and the thing vanished. My doctors were surprised, they didn’t think that could happen. Doctors say we can go.”

    She also recalled that she had two years ago undergone 12 surgical operations abroad and that she was divinely given a second chance to live.

    “I thank God for keeping me alive today. God is so wonderful. Just two years ago, I went through operations upon operations. Within one month, I passed through 12 operations; it is wonderful. To some people, they said she is dead but God resurrected me. God told me, ‘my daughter, go back, I will give you second chance, go and finish your work’.

    “And today, if my husband lost this election, I believe God has made me finish the work.”

    Mrs Jonathan said she was full of gratitute to God because she never thought or dreamt of being First Lady or deputy governor’s wife.

    “I never thought in my life that I will be first lady. I never dream of being wife of a deputy governor because my husband was not a politician. But God made it possible and God lifted us up from deputy governor and here we are.”

    Continuing, she said: “We should be grateful to God for what he has done. To me and my family, we praise God. To our followers, today it might not be too good but I want them to be grateful to God because you have followed us for a long time from deputy governor, governor, vice president, president.

    “You know this position is not a life thing. There is no permanent thing; so, I want you to take it in good faith that it is the will of God and you should be praising God. God is really wonderful. That is for the political side.”

    Jonathan, who noted that no system, including his administration, is perfect, urged Nigerians to forgive him in any way he may have erred.

    He said: “No system is perfect. Every human system must have an element of imperfection. For the period of eight years that we have been here. I will take the period as a block because my transition from VP to President was gradual and complicated. It was intertwined, so, you cannot actually draw the line.

    “Because when the President was challenged within major health issues, I was running the country for sometime, even before the doctrine of necessity made me as acting president. Then I took over at first and conducting the 2011 election I won and I had to run my full four years as an elected president.

    “So for the eight that one has been there, definitely one is not perfect. We have certainly done things that probably we wouldn’t have done that way, but we didn’t do things deliberately. So for those who we have offended, it was not deliberate, it was circumstances of the office.

    “So we also plead that those people should forgive, we think we have done our best. You can do your best and your friends may misunderstand you. Today we are talking about leaving. It is only God that knows why things go the way they do.”

    Thanking all those who stood by him during his tenure, Jonathan said: “We came in as vice president and my wife, today we are leaving as the former president and former first lady. We have achieved it through you. Let me specifically thank the chaplain, the clergymen, the pastors and their wives.

    “For the past eight years, we have every reason to be thankful to God. Every individual has his/her own calling. I also believe that people who take over political leadership have their own callings to do specific things. No one, head of a government, be it at the national level or the sub-regional levels can do every thing.

    “But when you leave, you will want to do something to show that yes I was here. The chaplain has said that nothing is perfect; if you wait for perfection, you cannot achieve anything.”

    “Ordinarily 24th of May would have been the last service here. But that 24th, we will all go to the National Christian Centre for the inauguration service. So, for me and my wife, this is our last day of worship here.

    “Though we are leaving as president and first lady, but we have not left you, because we are still in this country; we will continue to interact one way or the other, probably along the line we may even come closer. I believe some of you may even come closer, and even do more meaningful things together when we leave office.”

    Stressing that the office of the president is quite challenging, Jonathan said he did not believe that it is only in government somebody can excel.

    His words: “I don’t really believe that it is only in government that you can do things; even outside government you do a lot of things. The richest people in the world don’t even serve in government. Dangote has never been in government, so you don’t need to be in government to be rich. Bill Gates has not been in government. So outside government a lot of things happen, it is for us to be committed and continue to be focused. Me and my wife really love all of you.”

    In his short message titled “To Him be the glory”, the Aso Villa Chaplain, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba thanked God for His faithfulness to the first family throughout the tenure of the administration.

    Stressing that Jonathan offered him an opportunity to serve in the Chapel, he said that at no point in time was the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ withheld from those who have worshipped there.

    He hoped that what had been experienced in the Chapel under Jonathan would be passed on to the next administration.

    The first lesson was taken by the First Lady – from Numbers 6: 22 to 27.

    The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Board, John Kennedy-Opara, read the second lesson from 2 Corinthians 13: 11-14.

    It was not all sermons and testimonies. Jonathan got a gift – a picture of his while playing guitar in the chapel. It was presdented by the Aso Villa Chapel Committee.

    The Committee also presented picture of the First Lady reading the first lesson in the Chapel to Dame Patience. There was another picture – of the couple together in the church.

    A picture of President’s mother Madam Eunice Jonathan, in the Chapel was also presented to the first family.

    Since there will be no service at the chapel next Sunday, the children were allowed to make presentation in songs, drama and Bible recitation as part of the May 27th Children’s Day.

    The children’s department also presented a plaque to Jonathan and his wife.

    Prayers were said for the first family and the nation.

    At the service were the former Minister of Information Prof Jerry Gana, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Chief of Staff to the President Jones Arogbofa and Senator Philip Aduda.

    Some of the ministers in attendance are: Tammy Danagogo (Sports), Osite Chidoka (Aviation), Boni Haruna (Youth), Abba Moro (Interior), Chinedu Nebo (Power) and Sarah Ochekpe (Water Resource).

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the service on the initial plan to handover the Chapel on Sunday to the Vice President-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Onwuzurumba said that Osinbajo could not attend the service in person.

    According to him, one pastor from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Emmanuel Ibitayo, represented him during the service.

    The handing over of the Chapel, he said, will be done at a later date.

  • Forgive us if we offended you, Jonathan pleads

    Forgive us if we offended you, Jonathan pleads

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday delivered his valedictory message to worshipers at the Aso Rock Chapel during a thanksgiving service.

    Excerpts from the message follows:

    “No system is perfect. Every human system must have an element of imperfection. For the period of eight years that we have been here. I will take the period as a block because my transition from VP to President was gradual and complicated. It was intertwined so you cannot actually draw the line.

    “Because when the President was challenged within major health issues, I was running the country for sometimes even before the doctrine of necessity made me as acting president. Then I took over at first and conducting the 2011 election I won and I had to run my full four years as an elected president.

    “So for the eight that one has been there, definitely one is not perfect. We have certainly done things that probably we wouldn’t have done that way, but we didn’t do things deliberately. So for those who we have offended it was not deliberate, it was circumstances of the office.

    “So we also plead that those people should forgive, we think we have done our best. You can do your best and your friends may misunderstand you. Today we are talking about leaving, it is only God that knows why things go the way they do.

    “We came in as Vice President and my wife, today we are leaving as the former president and former First Lady. We have achieved it through you. Let me specifically thank the chaplain, the clergymen, the pastors and their wives.

    “For the past eight years we have every reason to be thankful to God. Every individual has his/her own calling. I also believe that people who take over political leadership have their own callings to do specific things. No one, head of a government, be it at the national level or the sub- regional levels can do every thing.

    “But when you leave, you will want to do something to show that yes I was here. The chaplain has said that nothing is perfect, if you wait for perfection, you cannot achieve anything.

    “Ordinarily 24th of May would haven been the last Service here. But that 24th, we will all go to the National Christian Centre for the inauguration service. So for me and my wife, this is our last day of worship here.

    “Though we are leaving as president and First Lady, but we have not left you, because we are still in this country, we will continue to interact one way or the other, probably along the line we may even come closer. I believe some of you may even come closer, and even do more meaningful things together when we leave office.

    I don’t really believe that it is only in government that you can do thing, even outside government you do a lot of things. The richest people in the world don’t even serve in government.

    Dangote has never been in government, so you don’t need to be in government to be rich. Bill Gates has not been in government. So outside government a lot of things happen, it is for us to be committed and continue to be focus. Me and my wife really love all of you.”

  • My ailment disappeared after Jonathan lost , says First Lady

    My ailment disappeared after Jonathan lost , says First Lady

    First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan on Sunday revealed that an undisclosed ailment which required a major operation disappeared immediately after her husband lost the 2015 Presidential election.

    Though she was due for a major operation after the election, she said that tests carried out in hospitals abroad showed that she was healthy and no longer required any operation.

    She however disclosed that she went through a major operation abroad in between campaigns in January.

    The First Lady who who spoke at the Aso Villa Chapel, thanked God for making it possible for her and her husband to leave office healthy and alive.

    On his part, Jonathan who noted that no system including his administration is perfect, urged Nigerians to forgive him in any way he has erred.

  • IBB lashes First Lady, Fayose, Fani-Kayode for hate campaigns

    IBB lashes First Lady, Fayose, Fani-Kayode for hate campaigns

    Hate campaigners got a bloody nose yesterday. Former President Ibrahim Babangida protested against attacks by President Goodluck Jonathan’s supporters on his person and others.

    He cited other generals under attack as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the late ex-Head of State Gen, Sani Abacha, ex-Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and a former Minister of Defence, Gen. T.Y Danjuma.

    Although Babangida did not mention names, First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan and Peoples Democratic Party Campaign Council spokesperson, Femi Fani-Kayode, have been criticised by many for championing hate campaign.

    He said those promoting hate documentaries are “intellectually delinquent or they suffer memory loss”.

    He said nothing forbade former military leaders from contesting presidential elections, adding that leadership training is better grounded in the military than any other profession.

    Gen. Babangida, in a statement he personally signed and released by his media office, said the stigmatisation of past military leaders accounted for “espirit de corps amongst ourselves in support of our military institution and colleagues when the stakes are high”.

    The statement said: “In clear attempts to whip up support for President Goodluck Jonathan, certain persons, groups and individuals have embarked on several campaigns of calumny against former military Heads of State and presidents who have had the opportunity to govern this country.

    “Of particular reference is a one-hour documentary aired on Silverbird Television on Tuesday night; 24th March, 2015 that deliberately impugned the integrity of Generals Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, my humble self; Ibrahim Babangida, the late Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and T.Y. Danjuma; all of whom have had the privilege of presiding over the affairs of this great country at various levels.

    “It is either that those promoting the hate documentary are intellectually delinquent or they suffer memory loss; or a combination of both.

    “I have my very strong reservations about the contents and thematic focus of the said documentary. Apart from promoting hate campaign which clearly undermines the modest contributions of these former presidents, the commentaries in the documentary against the former presidents leave a sour taste in the mouth.

    “Nobody is stopping anyone from campaigning for their preferred candidates contesting various positions in the elections, but to do that at the expense of the reputation, contributions, patriotism, loyalty and sacrifice of former presidents to the Nigerian state is, to say the least, immature.”

    The ex-Military President said nothing forbids ex-military leaders from contesting presidential election.

    The statement said: “The military is at present combating the dreaded Boko Haram sect to restore Nigeria’s territorial integrity. What law under a democracy forbids retired military personnel from participating in politics and presenting themselves for election? Over 90 per cent of American Presidents have military background.

    “Leadership training is better grounded in the military than any other profession. And the military parades some of the best brains in any country, including Nigeria.

    “In fact, some of my military students that I tutored have Doctorate Degrees.

    “It is, therefore, callous, wicked, out-of-sync, cynical and a show of crass ignorance for anyone to undermine the military institution by embarking on mudslinging campaigns against former presidents and leaders with military background.

    “While those campaigners are pointing their accusing fingers at us, they forget to recall that the present Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation is actually a retired military officer.

    “It is this form of demonisation and stigmatisation that often compels us to exhibit esprit de corps amongst ourselves in support of our military institution and colleagues when the stakes are high.

    “As disciplined military officers, we are patriotic Nigerians and must be treated with utmost respect and decorum.”

    He said irrespective of any insinuations against the military, he remains proud of the institution.

    Gen. Babangida said: “The military is an institution that is so dear to my heart. It is an institution that nurtured my growing up and my achievements in life. I am not only sold to the military institution and by extension the Nigerian state, I am betrothed to it.

    “As a profession, retirees are bound to participate in politics and democracy as an all-inclusive process, same way that doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses, and civil servants get involved in it. It is the reason why I ventured into politics in 2003 before I quit in 2010. It is the same reason why General Obasanjo participated and got elected; and now General Buhari.

    “It is therefore very curious that promoters of President Goodluck Jonathan’s aspiration would attempt to demonise and stigmatise former military leaders and cast aspersions on them in order to malign their reputation. This is very unfair.

    “Fact is; the military fought a civil war to keep this country together. What I suffer today is a consequence of the injuries I sustained during the Nigeria Civil War. I am not sure there is any patriotism that is more than that. Some of us were prepared to die for the country.”

    Babangida reminded pro-Jonathan campaigners that the idea behind the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) started in his home.

    He said those parading themselves as democrats today had all participated in military governments

    The statement added: “For record purposes, and without sounding immodest, the idea of a PDP that has now become the ‘largest party in Africa’ started in my home, here in Minna.

    “With the support of my fellow colleagues, we prepared the way for this democratic process that has now led us to where we are presently.

    “We built the democratic infrastructure and architecture. Those who are parading themselves as democrats today, all participated in military governments.”

    Gen. Babangida explained why he decided to be silent.

  • First Lady to voters: stay to monitor votes

    THE First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, yesterday urged eligible voters not to go home after casting their votes during the March 28 and April 11 general elections.

    In contrast with the directive of the police to the electorate to go home after casting their votes, she advised them to stay at the polling units to protect their votes and resist any attempt to intimidate them after voting.

    Mrs. Jonathan spoke at Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) women campaign rally in Enugu yesterday.

     

  • ‘First Lady reaffirms Amaechi’s performance’

    The Greater Together Campaign Organisation (GTCO) of Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside has hailed the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, for acknowledging the performance of Governor Rotimi Amaechi on projects in the state.

    GTCO’s Director of Communications Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, however, cautioned the First Lady to stop lying about the performance of her husband.

    Mrs Jonathan, while addressing a Southsouth women zonal rally of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday, acknowledged that Amaechi’s administration completed the Gas Turbine at Omoku, the Eleme Junction interchange and the Rivers State section of federal roads.

    She said: “The completed Omoku Gas Turbine, a power project initiated, wholly-owned and completed by the Rivers State government, was started by Dr Peter Odili and was 30 per cent completed when Governor Chibuike Amaechi took over office. Governor Amaechi has since completed it.

    “The Omoku Integrated Power Project (IPP) of the Federal Government was awarded by President Olusegun Obasanjo, towards the end of his tenure and has been abandoned in the last five years. As at today that project is 15 per cent completed, a fact that our First Lady conveniently overlooked in her attempt to appropriate the Gas Turbine built and completed by the Rivers State government.

    “Politics and electioneering cannot erase lies when told nor would impersonation be tolerated, no matter done by whom. It is in this reality that we make bold to assert that the Eastern By-Pass, which Mrs. Jonathan claimed was a project undertaken by her husband, is a Rivers State government project, initiated by the Chief Rufus Ada-George’s administration and completed by former Governor Peter Odili and refurbished by Amaechi’s administration. The Federal Government has no hands whatsoever in the design, construction and completion of that road.

    GTCO also said the claim by Mrs Jonathan that her husband repaired the Onne Road in Eleme was simply because she had been using helicopters in moving to her Okrika hometown.

    “We urge the First Lady to travel home (Okrika) by road during her next visit to enable her appreciate the plight of her people, who suffer on a daily basis on the road.

    “Only deliberate mischief will make anyone claim that the Onne–Eleme portion of the East-West Road has been made passable by the Federal Government. The road, in the last six years, has been the nightmare of motorists and commuters.

    “On the Onne Port claims, we simply wonder how the Jonathan’s administration can lay claims to the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone or lay claim to the jobs created by someone else’s foresight.

    “We, again, thank her for graciously acknowledging the achievements of Governor Amaechi, but we will suggest that she checks her facts and the records next time before speaking.”

  • First Lady came to Ekiti to entertain, says APC

    First Lady came to Ekiti to entertain, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has described Monday’s campaign visit by First Lady Patience Jonathan as a comical show.

    The party said Mrs. Jonathan failed to prove why the people should vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    It said Mrs. Jonathan only showcased her theatrical prowess, instead of a more robust and issue-based campaign to list her husband’s achievements in Ekiti in the last four years and his plans for the state, if he wins.

    The APC urged the First Lady to emulate the wife of its presidential candidate, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, who  showed class and panache in her campaign engagements.

    In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, the party regretted that the First Lady only came to Ekiti State to entertain the indigenes.

    He regretted that Mrs. Jonathan and Governor Ayo Fayose treated Ekiti people and other Nigerians watching the event live on television to insipid and dry comedy with their lack-of-grace speeches.

    Olatubosun said throughout the campaign, Mrs. Jonathan created the impression that what Ekiti people needed was entertainment and theatrics to quench their thirst for growth and development.

    He said: “Throughout her speech, she manifested an image of an entertainer providing a momentary comic relief to a poverty-ravaged community not in a hurry for socio-economic salvation.

    “You would have thought that the First Lady would list her husband’s achievements in Ekiti State and then give the people some hope that her husband would build upon those achievements.

    “But she engaged in a “duet” with her host and soul mate, Fayose, in an empty campaign comedy to a thoroughly dazed enlightened Ekiti people.

    “It was a perfect duet by two comedians that one does not need any counsel that Nigeria must be rescued from the captivity of the costumed ‘people of power’.”

    The APC spokesman berated Mrs. Jonathan for her relentless attacks on the APC presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, saying her conduct betrayed a woman hit by the failure of her “husband’s mandate to govern Nigeria”.

    His words: “She consistently painted Buhari as a man who would herd Nigerians into jail without committing any crime whereas Buhari only insisted that criminals during his coming administration would go to jail.

    “She said she was not ready to prepare food for Fayose in jail. Inadvertently, Mrs Jonathan was telling Nigerians that Fayose is a candidate for the prison, if Buhari wins.”

    Olatubosun challenged the First Lady to tell Ekiti people the benefits of SURE-P, which she flaunted at the rally, saying the programme was just a bazaar for a few selfish party leaders.

    He faulted her claim that women were appointed into government positions by Fayose, saying this was a clear case of falsehood, which had become synonymous with Jonathan’s administration.

    “Fayose has a four-man cabinet running his administration. Apart from the secretary to the state government, where are the other women Fayose has appointed?”