Nigeria’s first lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, had on Sunday, October 27,2014 discard a statement made by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State on the aacount that she is demanding a share in the state funds.
Governor Amaechi was quoted on Saturday, 25 October, 2014at the joint graduation of the students of University of Ibadan and pioneer graduates of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Port Harcourt, as saying that the problem he had with Mrs. Jonathan began after he rejected her demand for a share in the state funds.
“I refused to give them money in Abuja because if I do that, I won’t be able to carry out any development project or finish the road from Rumuolumeni to Rumuepirikom.
“The quarrel between me and the wife of the President is because she said I should bring your money, Rivers people’s money and share with her,” the governor reportedly said.
Mrs. Jonathan has however reacted in a statement by her media advisort, Mr. Ayo Adewuyi, dismissing Amaechi’s statement as a deliberate attempt to malign her and score cheap political point.
She further maintains that she could not have made such a request from the governor either directly or indirectly a she condemns such act as unethical and criminal.
Speaking further on the accusation,Mr Adewuyi said, “Having waited patiently for Governor Amaechi to refute the statement credited to him about the First Lady, (with the assumption that he was misquoted), it has become clear that it was a deliberate attempt to malign Dame Patience Jonathan and score cheap political point.
“The Governor may have been beclouded by the political uncertainty surrounding him to make such a jaundiced and unsubstantiated allegation that the First Lady asked him to bring Rivers State money to share.
“This is a blatant lie designed to denigrate the person of Dame Patience Jonathan and rubbish the Presidency. This is to say the least unfortunate.
“It is crystal clear that Governor Amaechi is looking for cheap excuse for his failure in the governance of the state. We say without any iota of equivocation that the First Lady never made such request and could not have done so in any way either directly and indirectly.
