"First Lady, Patience Jonathan is not sick " - Presidency

The presidency on Monday denied that the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, was sick.

Mrs. Jonathan, the presidency said, is not sick and has only travelled abroad on official functions,

In a statement on Monday by Ayo Osinlu, Mrs. Jonathan’s Special Assistant on Media, the presidency said, “Our attention has been attracted to speculations in the media about the movement of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan recently. For the avoidance of doubts and ambiguities, I wish to state that Her Excellency had travelled to participate in the 1st Green Women Conference in Paris, France, on March 17, where she received the Global Women Leaders’ Award for Peace, 2013.”

According to the statement, the president’s wife, after the conference, travelled to Germany to visit her foster mother and children.

“Thereafter, the First Lady called on 'Mama Sisi' who is currently receiving medical attention. It was in her normal plan to spend some time overseeing the management of the foster mother’s condition. The First Lady also seized the opportunity to spend some time in the company of Mama’s children before they return to school. ‘Dame Patience Jonathan is expected in the country next week,” the statement said.

It also expressed appreciation to those who had shown “genuine concern through their enquiries.”

Media reports had suggested the first lady was ill, again, and travelled abroad for treatment.

The denial by Mrs. Jonathan’s aides may, however, not impress many Nigerians as the presidency had made similar claims last year when the first lady travelled abroad for several weeks.

Despite the repeated denials by the presidency, Mrs. Jonathan later confirmed her illness and treatment for several weeks at a German hospital saying she nearly died.