PROTEST, ANGER GREET NIGERIA’S FIRST LADY’S INTERFERENCE IN KWARA POLITICS The Nigerian First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, came under intense attacks yesterday night as news filtered in that she had mandated all aspirants contesting under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to appear before her on Tuesday, 11th November, 2014 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Although, as at the time of filing this report, it is still unclear whether the meeting with the First Lady would still go ahead as there has been several efforts to discourage aides of the First Lady from going ahead with it, KwaraTrends learnt that a couple of the attendants at the meeting had already move to Abuja preparatory to the meeting. A highly placed source at the Presidency informed this medium that the 1st Lady was calling the meeting of the aspirants at the instance of the billionaire businesswoman, Hajia Bola Shagaya. Shagaya was said to have ‘briefed’ Mrs. Jonathan about the happenings in the Kwara PDP during the latter’s last visit to Kwara State, where she came to inaugurate the state chapter of the Women for Development and Change Initiative (W4CDI). It was also at the briefing that Jonathan was encouraged to call a meeting of the aspirants of the party ahead of the party’s primaries which hold soon. Our correspondent gathered that in fulfillment of this, the Chairman of the PDP, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, was mandated by Shagaya to call a notice of the meeting to the issued to all governorship aspirants contesting under the PDP platform in the state. In a text messages circulated by the state chairman of the party, a draft of which was sighted by our correspondent in Ilorin, the PDP chairman said that the First Lady had called the meeting and that ‘date and time would be communicated soon.’ But hardly had he made the announcement than some of the affected aspirants protested what they termed the ‘overbearing’ interference on the First Lady on Kwara politics lately. They bemoaned the continued ‘meddlesomeness’ of Mrs. Jonathan on the choice of the flag bearer of the party in Kwara state. In an exclusive chat with KwaraTrends yesterday, a gubernatorial aspirant from the Kwara South Senatorial District who asked not to be named for fear of victimization, said that if care was not taken, the ‘First Lady would lead Kwara PDP into despondency and anarchy…” Continuing, the aspirant said that there was no reason why Mrs. Jonathan must continue to poke nose into the affairs of the state without giving respect to the wishes of the people.” Also talking, another aspirant from the Kwara Central Senatorial District, said that it would be foolhardy for anyone to think that the First Lady is capable of changing the direction of votes in the state. “If they ever think that the First Lady could do anything to change their fortunes during the primaries, they are but only mistaken. No one shall succumb to subtle threat and enticement. That era is gone and gone for good!”
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 11:25:13 +0000
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