Nigerian’s first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has been criticized lately for making several derogatory and controversial comments during several rallies in an attempt to encourage more people to vote for her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan and support the PDP party in general.
According to a Daily Post report, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday said that Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan should publicly denounce the First Lady’s inflammatory comments made at a recent rally in Calabar. He said this while hosting the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, at the State House, Marina, Lagos. This comes after Media Mogul and Publisher, Dele Momodu also wrote an open letter to the First Lady urging her to watch her words and offer an apology for the recent unguarded statements she made recently. Click here if you missed it!
Governor Fashola stated:
“When some people say if the president did not win an election, this will happen and the president kept quiet, what message is he sending to Nigerians? He is telling us that we are not safe if he doesn’t win. The president must speak up and reassure Nigerians that the country must be safe no matter the outcome of the election. That is his responsibility.
It is not enough to sign a peace accord but to act it. If the president wants to campaign in any state 24 hours, he is allowed but there are things he must publicly dissociate himself from.
He must publicly dissociate himself from his wife’s inciting comments, he must. He must disown them and his leadership will be defined by whether he does it himself or ask his aides to go and say it. When all is said and done, this election will define his tenure for many reasons.”