Patience Johnathan, first Lady of Nigeria
Nigeria’s first lady Patience Jonathan was in a bad state of health when she arrived last week at the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany.
The hospital’s official, who confirmed that initial records showed that Mrs. Patience Jonathan had earlier been treated for food poisoning in Nigeria before being brought to the Horst Schmidt Klinik, however, said she was responding to treatment after she had undergone a major surgery for a ruptured appendix to remove the poisons in her intestine.
During an eight-minute telephone chat yesterday through telephone with a senior consultant of the hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mrs. Jonathan was brought to the hospital early last week after the management of the hospital had been contacted and briefed on the deteriorating health condition of the first lady.
She said that Mrs. Jonathan was getting better but added that the hospital management would ensure that she was fully fit before she would be allowed to go back to Nigeria.
When our correspondent demanded further details, the hospital official said it was improper and unethical for her to make such details available to a third party, ending the call and refusing to pick up subsequent calls.
Meanwhile, a reliable source in Aso Rock disclosed that the decision to take the First Lady to Germany for better treatment was borne out of the fact that her medical aides in Nigeria complained that they could not get accurate diagnosis as a result of insufficient medical facilities in the country.
It would be recalled that the first lady’s media aide, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, had confirmed her foreign trip at the beginning of the week, but said Patience Jonathan was only taking a rest abroad and not seeking medical attention. Osinlu said that the First Lady is expected back in the country this week.
Meanwhile, the Special Assistant on Media to the First Lady, Ayo Osinlu yesterday dispelled report by an online media, claiming that the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan was air lifted to Germany for medical treatment.Osinlu who spoke in a telephone call put to him by State House Correspondents from the council chamber at the presidential villa, Abuja, maintained that he can be quoted authoritatively on the matter that the report were all lies, adding that even at gun point, he had no more information to give on the issue.
He said for now, he still had no idea when the First Lady would return to the country, even as it was not in his capacity to find out. Ha added that he had no fresh information to add aside what he earlier said that was reported in the Media on Monday.
The Media Assistant to the First Lady said, “Nobody is going to put a gun on my head and force me to talk when I have no fresh information, my position is not different from what I told Daily Trust”.
