I Did Not Campaign For Ladoja...Patience Jonathan

The First Lady, Patience Jonathan, on Tuesday, said she did not campaign for former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, neither did she have political favourite....

She warned mischief makers and political jobbers to desist from dropping her name for their political survival and fortunes.

This was contained in a statement signed by her media assistant, Mr Ayo Adewuyi, in Abuja, in reaction to some media reports against the First Lady.

According to the alleged report, Mrs Jonathan had requested the PDP leaders in Oyo State to “accommodate” Ladoja, an Accord Party chieftain, in the PDP and “support him to realise his governorship ambition.”

Reacting, the First Lady, in the statement, said “this is another attempt by mischief makers to loop their self-induced political travails around the First Lady, to develop another strategy for their survival.

“It has again come to our notice that a new twist has been introduced to the carefully orchestrated scheme to anchor the political fortunes or survival of certain politicians on a deliberate demonisation of Mrs Jonathan has continued to preach the gospel of peaceful atmosphere for the conduct of 2015 elections.

“We consider it preposterous that it can be assumed by any person that the First Lady would possibly make such request on behalf of someone who is not even in the ruling party, the PDP.

“We ask again, on what platform? Within what context? And to achieve what? Is Ladoja in PDP?

“Let us state, once again, that the First Lady is not an elected official of state, neither is she a party functionary. She, therefore, recognises very clearly her place in the scheme of things and acts always accordingly.

“If anything, she has continued to preach for peaceful conduct of all aspirants before, during and after elections, since she believes that peace is prerequisite to a free and fair election and ultimately, development and unity of the country.

“The First Lady is of the opinion that we need peaceful environment for the election itself and when there is likelihood of crisis brewing; performing her role as the president of the African First Ladies Peace Mission becomes inevitable, since charity must begin at home.

“She believes the elections can only be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere and the aspirants must be alive to contest and win election. She only preaches peace because she is a mother of peace.”

However, it explained that Mrs Jonathan was in Ibadan recently only for the purpose of commissioning the Oyo State office of Women for Change and Development Initiative, one of her NGOs seeking to uplift the status of Nigerian women, during which women of the state were equally empowered.

“To, therefore, say that the First Lady summoned PDP governorship aspirants in Oyo State, asking them to ‘accommodate’ an Accord Party aspirant, is to say the least dubious, diversionary, unfair, unkind, and, therefore, totally unacceptable,” it stated