Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has called on Nigerians
not to vote for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress,
Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), because the APC standard bearer is too old
and therefore unfit to rule.
The President’s wife, who spoke in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital during
the Peoples Democratic Party’s women campaign rally on Tuesday, also warned
women against voting for Buhari because, according to her, the APC presidential
candidate would put women in purdah and trample on their rights.
She added that old people might not reason very well because of their
ageing mind.
She said, “Vote for my husband, Jonathan. Do not vote for Buhari. He is
an old man. People when they become old may not reason well and their brain may
even be dead.”
The President’s wife stated that women deserved to be given due
recognition and opportunities and should not be relegated to the background.
She said Jonathan’s administration had given women more opportunities to
actualise their dreams and showcase their potential.
Mrs. Jonathan said her husband’s administration had offered women great
opportunities to be part of decision making in national governance.
She added that Nigerian women had also been empowered and provided jobs
through the agricultural revolution and other Federal Government’s initiatives
and interventions.
She called on the electorate to re-elect Jonathan, noting that the
introduction of U-Win and the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme had created many
jobs for the unemployed youths.
She said, “This administration identified and reckoned with women. Women
were empowered; they were given opportunities to serve the nation and they
performed creditably well to the admiration of the people.”
Also, the Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada (retd.), said Jonathan’s
administration had ensured infrastructural and human capital development in the
state.
He said the Jonathan’s administration had awarded contract for the
rehabilitation of the Obajana-Kabba- Ilorin Road, which he said, had been
abandoned in the last 20 years