Why I shunned Rivers deputy Gov in P’Harcourt - Patience Jonathan

According to media reports, the first
lady shunned the deputy Governor of
Rivers State who came with other
government officials to receive her at
the airport in Rivers state on Sunday as she arrived in the state for a private visit to make arrangements for her late mum's burial.
In a statement released yesterday, Mrs Jonathan explained that the reason she shunned the deputy
governor and other state officials was because the governor of Rivers state,his wife and other top officials of the state didn't pay her a condolence visit when she lost her foster mother.

Read the statement below...

The attention of the First Lady,
Dame Patience Jonathan, has
been drawn to reports carried in
some sections of the media
alleging that top officials of the
Rivers government, including the
Deputy Governor Tele Ikuru who
came to receive the First Lady,
were shielded from Dame
Jonathan on her arrival at Port
Harcourt International Airport on
Sunday, (18/08/2013). Some of
the media reports went to the
extent of alleging that Dame
Jonathan “snubbed” the Deputy
Governor.

It is important to set the record straight in order to prevent the public from being
misled. The First Lady arrived in Rivers
State yesterday (on Sunday) for a
private visit, to make arrangements for
the burial of her late mother with
members of her extended family.
Customarily, the wife of the State
Governor receives the First Lady
whenever she visits any state. That is
why the wife of Bayelsa State Governor
traveled from Yenagoa to receive the
First Lady. Ordinarily, one would have
expected the same complement from
the wife of the Rivers State Governor.
It is instructive to note that since the
death of Mrs. Charity Oba, the mother of
the First Lady, several groups and
individuals from across the country
have come to condole the First Family
at the State House, Abuja. They include
Executive State Governors and their
wives from all the political divides;
Nigeria’s former Presidents and Heads
of State and their wives, captains of
industry, female Ambassadors and High
Commissioners of Nigeria, other
members of the diplomatic corps, royal
fathers and traditional leaders - the list
is too numerous to call. However, the
Governor and the wife from the State
which the First Lady hails have not paid
such a visit.
It should be clear to all that for quite
some time now, the First Lady has
refrained from commenting on issues
relating to the politics of Rivers State.
Dame Patience does not want her name
to be used to heat up the polity. We
therefore urge that the name of the First
Lady be left out of the politics in Rivers
State.
The First Lady, like any Nigerian, is free
to visit the state of her birth. But we are
forced to ask: why the presence of the
First Lady in Rivers State always
generate rumpus? Dame Jonathan
bears no grudge towards anyone as she
is an individual who continues to
tirelessly advocate for peace and
harmony in Nigeria. We therefore
reiterate that the First Lady’s name be
left out of the politics in the State.

- Patience Jonathan