[Photo] Men arrested for tearing Patience Jonathan's posters

The visit of the wife of President Goodluck
Jonathan, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, to Edo State, was
on Saturday disrupted when some men, suspected
to be aggrieved youths of the Peoples Democratic
Party, pulled down some banners bearing the
image of the First Lady, at the Samuel Ogbemudia
Stadium in Benin, the state capital.
Mrs. Jonathan was in the state to drum support
from Edo women for her husband's re-election
campaign.
It was learnt that the men climbed the fence where
the banners were placed and began to pull them
down as soon as it was time for the First Lady to
deliver her address.
Irked by what they termed to be an attempt to mar
the visit of the President's wife, some youths and
policemen dressed in branded T-shirts, bearing the
Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria logo,
accosted the men.
It was in the process of a brewing brawl that some
policemen, drafted to the venue of the rally to
provide security, whisked them away in a police
vehicle.
The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Chris
Nehikhare, said he had no doubt that the
perpetrators were sympathisers of the All
Progressives Congress.
He claimed that none of the youths who had turned
out for the event would carry out the act, adding
that the party would investigate further.
Nehikhare said, "I am sure they were APC people.
No PDP youth will be aggrieved to the extent of
pulling down the First Lady's posters; every PDP
youths love the First Lady.
"But I will investigate to find out and let you know
tomorrow (Sunday)."
Speaking at the event, Mrs. Jonathan insisted that
her husband would remain in office for another
term.
She was accompanied by national and state leaders
of the party.
Women, drawn from different support groups
across the state, had turned out for the event as
early as 9am. They, however, began to leave the
stadium at about 1.30pm, when Mrs. Jonathan
arrived at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium venue of
the rally.
Unable to bear the scorching heat, two women
fainted but were later revived by a medical team
provided by the party.
The President's wife said the presidency had been
occupied for eight years by other geopolitical zones
and asked why the South-South should be denied
the opportunity.
She added that the Jonathan administration had
performed creditably in various sectors such as
transport and education.
She said, "In Nigeria, I saw a train last when I was
very young; I was still in the primary school. But
today, we can see the train is moving.
"Everybody stayed there for eight years. Now it is
our turn; so, we must complete our eight years
because God has ordained it. We will complete our
two tenures; we will hand over."
Mrs. Jonathan described the postponed visit of the
wife of the APC presidential candidate, Mrs. Aisha
Buhari, earlier scheduled for Saturday at the same
venue, as a plot by the opposition to foment
trouble.
She also challenged her critics, who had accused
her of corruption, even when, according to her, no
"budget or constitutional right" was accorded to the
Office of the First Lady.
"Tomorrow, they will say 'Mrs. Jonathan is corrupt.'
Through where is she corrupt? I don't have any
budget attached to my office. Go and probe me and
see whether there is any budget attached to my
office. I don't touch your money. Whatever I have, I
worked for it," she added.