THE First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, has denied the allegation that she was behind the sale of an Enugu electricity distribution company.
Mrs Jonathan was reacting to an online report linking her to the sale and describing her as the brain behind the constant bending of rules for Interstate by both the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).
In a reaction on Sunday, through the director of information in her office, Ayo Adesugba, the First Lady said she had no interest or link whatsoever with the company.
She described the article as not only speculative and uncharitable, but also extremely unfair and provocative.
The report, according to her, ran counter to the basic ethics of journalism, by failing to be fair and balanced, insisting that nobody from the online medium requested her own side of the rumoured story.
“Normally, the hearsay and conjectures in the article should have been ignored due to the fact that it is speculative journalism at its worst.
“Additionally, the article as it pertains to the First Lady is devoid of any concrete evidence or supporting documents.
“However, since the First Lady’s name has been mentioned in the article, we are duty bound to respond so that the public will not be unwittingly misled.
“We wish to reiterate that there is no truth in the report. The First Lady’s attention is firmly focused on her philanthropic roles through her NGOs and on promoting peace in her capacity as the president of the African First Ladies Peace Mission.
“Patience is also working with commitment to ensure greater online security for Nigerian children in her capacity as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Child Online Protection Champion.
“Unfounded and speculative reports are unnecessary distractions which we hope all well meaning Nigerians should ignore,” the statement read.
