The All Progressives Congress, the umbrella of major opposition political parties, on Friday asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to investigate media reports that stated that the wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, campaigned for her husband's re-election during her visit to Rivers State, and sanction her appropriately.

Several media reports on Tuesday, quoted the President's wife as asking the people of Obio Akpor Local Government Area of the state to support President Goodluck Jonathan when he seeks re-election in 2015.

This, APC noted, occurred less than two weeks after INEC warned politicians against starting campaign ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The spokesmen for the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change, the two leading parties in APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed and Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, respectively told SUNDAY PUNCH that INEC had no moral right to sanction any other person, if it failed to sanction Mrs. Jonathan, and others who had started drumming up support for the President.

Mohammed said, "If it is true that Mrs. Patience Jonathan has started campaigning for her husband, then INEC's attention should be drawn to that because just two weeks ago, INEC warned against campaigning of any kind. If INEC does not sanction her for campaigning, then it will lose every moral right to sanction any other person who starts campaigning."

Similarly, Fashakin said the action of the President's wife was a display of the culture of impunity, which he said had characterised the Jonathan administration.

He said, "The bane of our society is the culture of impunity that has become very pervasive. It has become even worse under Jonathan than any other time in the country's history. That is the kind of thing you would see. The fact is that Jonathan has brought down the level of leadership in the country. We have not had it this low.

"Past Nigerian leaders, both military and civilian, were able to keep their spouses in check, but we have not seen that under President Jonathan. If the Jonathan administration prodded INEC to give the warning against campaign, and the same administration has gone on to flout the warning; then there is a problem."

Fashakin said the APC expected INEC to analyse Mrs. Jonathan's comments and if found to be open campaign, appropriate sanction should be applied.

He said, "We believe INEC should have monitors. INEC is the regulator of the political parties. It is to regulate the conduct of political parties. If it does not have a mechanism to monitor this kind of thing and give sanctions appropriately, then it should close shop. It is not for us to tell the regulator its job.

"The President's wife's speech was well reported. So, if anything in that speech constitutes open campaign for the President, and since it's not yet time for politicking, then it's an infraction of a subsisting regulation and it is anctionable. INEC should know what to do."

Also, a former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, on Monday said he and some groups decided to start campaigning for President Goodluck Jonathan's re-election in 2015 despite his directive to the contrary because of the disposition of those opposed to the President's second coming.

Clark said the position of his group, which was formed in August 2010, was that all Nigerians were equal, irrespective of which side of the country they hailed from.

In its reaction, the Presidency on Friday said it was wrong to describe the mobilisation of support currently being done by wife of the President as campaign ahead of the 2015 elections.

Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, made the Presidency's position known in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents.

Gulak said what Mrs. Jonathan was doing was to mobilise support for President Goodluck Jonathan in order for him to continue to deliver on his agenda for national transformation.

This, he explained, did not translate into campaigning for the 2015 elections.

He said, "What the woman is doing is to ask citizens of Nigeria to support the President because he actually needs their support.

"The President is revamping the railway; he is tackling insecurity; he is tackling power problem; he is constructing roads and bridges. In all these, he needs the support of the citizens to succeed. He cannot do it alone.

"What we have been saying and what the First Lady is saying is that Nigerians should give the President their support. That does not mean we are campaigning."

Apparently concerned with the campaigns that had started for his reelection, Jonathan, during the 61st National Executive Council meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja on Thursday, advised his party leaders against defying the INEC's ban on any form of politicking for now

Section 99 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Amended) states that, "For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day."

When contacted the spokesman for the chairman of INEC, Mr. Kayode Idowu, told one of our correspondents to give him some time to confirm the media reports before responding.

However, he did not answer subsequent phone calls and did not reply to a text message sent to his mobile phone as of press time.

http://m.naij.com/news/37969.html

Jega can do nothing. At least this puts to rest Jonathan's talk of still consulting and not being decisive about contesting.

Kk.

This illiterate woman keeps putting hin odensin husband into wahala everytime she opens that her umblerra mouth.

When everybody is busy insulting her husband, nobody tried to caution anybody but now that somebody is angry, everybody is now complaining.

Mrs GEJ is not campaigning but just venting her anger against the hypocrites who see no good in whatever her husband does.

By the way, she is Nigerian woman. Not imported from Europe or USA.

Did u read d topic or u are jst writin?

Ngwakwe:

When everybody is busy insulting her husband, nobody tried to caution anybody but now that somebody is angry, everybody is now complaining.

Mrs GEJ is not campaigning but just venting her anger against the hypocrites who see no good in whatever her husband does.

By the way, she is Nigerian woman. Not imported from Europe or USA.

Ngwakwe:

When everybody is busy insulting her husband, nobody tried to caution anybody but now that somebody is angry, everybody is now complaining.

Mrs GEJ is not campaigning but just venting her anger against the hypocrites who see no good in whatever her husband does.

By the way, she is Nigerian woman. Not imported from Europe or USA.

Are you okay at all?

Is people like you that will turn every move of GEJ as object of ridicule that is causing her to shove it to your hypocritical face.

Call her anything you like, she is a private citizen and not a PDP executive nor is she the PDP woman leader.

The call to stop her is in itself undemocratic as she holds no official political post neither was she present during the recent PDP NEC meeting.

kkkp: Did u read d topic or u are jst writin?

egift:

Are you okay at all?

kkkp: Did u read d topic or u are jst writin?

When did GEJ's wife become a political party intstructed not to campaign? Maybe the opposition now correctly sees her as an institution that she is. So I Okoro2015 cannot go to my village association and talk to them to support GEJ or Buhari should they want to contest in 2015? Very soon the headline will be that Jonathan has started campaigning in his nuclear family. Smh for directionless opposition.

Vote Gej 2015...INEC needs to investigate me too right? Lai get wife at all so? Make Gej hol im wife say she no get right ba? But seriously,wetin go happen if Patience begin speak the pidgin wey she sabi and leave english 4 ppl wey fit speak am?

I asked because your initial post have no connotation with the issue being discussed. But your second response is not only lame but filled with ignorance.

Ngwakwe: Is people like you that will turn every move of GEJ as object of ridicule that is causing her to shove it to your hypocritical face.

So madam is now "shoving it" to the faces of every Nigerian. What if I may ask? (Her privildege and the opportunity Nigerians gave the husband to be president?)

Ngwakwe: Call her anything you like, she is a private citizen and not a PDP executive nor is she the PDP woman leader.

Who is a "private citizen"? The wife of Mr. President or the Permanent Secretary? So in your tiny mind those party leaders also get to shut down Lagos and PH when they visit, like Madam P?

Ngwakwe: The call to stop her is in itself undemocratic as she holds no official political post neither was she present during the recent PDP NEC meeting.

So if INEC ask her to desist from such lawlessness, it is "undemocratic"? But just two weeks ago Presido got INEC to issue a directive that prohibits all political parties, including PDP, any form of 2015 campaigns.

As I said either you are blinded by sentiments, ignorant or you have your head buried in some unmentionables.

what's so private being a private citizen Ngwakwe? iji kwa ahu?

Mrs GEJ ascribed status cannot be accredited to her as achievement neither can she be crucified for it.

Forget about the indirect and fruitless truce Lai Mohameed is calling.

If you Berem of a character were in madam GEJ's stead, You will do more than her as I no see you carrying last in this matter.

berem: what's so private being a private citizen Ngwakwe? iji kwa ahu?

Ngwakwe: Mrs GEJ ascribed status cannot be accredited to her as achievement neither can she be crucified for it.

Forget about the indirect and fruitless truce Lai Mohameed is calling.

If you Berem of a character were in madam GEJ's stead, You will do more than her as I no see you carrying last in this matter.

If i were in her shoes, i will get something better doing than touring the whole Nigeria fighting her perceived enemies.
sometime last 2 weeks, i watched a comedy show on Nickelodeon by some teens and i was surprised to see Michelle Obama as a guest appearance in the show. She acted so well you wouldn't believe she is a first lady of America. she looked so simple and humble. I said to myself, when will Patience Jonathan humble herself to do what Michelle did? Let the truth be told, Patience Jonathan is the worst First Lady Nigeria has ever had!

With all these gibberish you just spewed, you can as well write to NASS or INEC to order for her arrest.

Anyway, tell INEC to invade Nairaland to stop all these Political Jobbers spamming this Section and heating the Polity.

egift: I asked because your initial post have no connotation with the issue being discussed. But your second response is not only lame but filled with ignorance.


So madam is now "shoving it" to the faces of every Nigerian. What if I may ask? (Her privildege and the opportunity Nigerians gave the husband to be president?)


Who is a "private citizen"? The wife of Mr. President or the Permanent Secretary? So in your tiny mind those party leaders also get to shut down Lagos and PH when they visit, like Madam P?


So if INEC ask her to desist from such lawlessness, it is "undemocratic"? But just two weeks ago Presido got INEC to issue a directive that prohibits all political parties, including PDP, any form of 2015 campaigns.

As I said either you are blinded by sentiments, ignorant or you have your head buried in some unmentionables.

Can you imagine every neophytes following the opposition and majority of Northern Elites to call GEJ drunken fisherman just because he hails from Bayelsa and is Ijaw.

Secondly, to most Northern PDP chieftains non of GEJ decisions irrespective of how popular they are, appease those so called born to rule notwithstanding that GEJ is in the same party with them.

You are limited by virtue of not being in her shoes.

berem: If i were in her shoes, i will get something better doing than touring the whole Nigeria fighting her perceived enemies.
sometime last 2 weeks, i watched a comedy show on Nickelodeon by some teens and i was surprised to see Michelle Obama as a guest appearance in the show. She acted so well you wouldn't believe she is a first lady of America. she looked so simple and humble. I said to myself, when will Patience Jonathan humble herself to do what Michelle did? Let the truth be told, Patience Jonathan is the worst First Lady Nigeria has ever had!

Baba_Eleko: This illiterate woman keeps putting hin odensin husband into wahala everytime she opens that her umblerra mouth.

But talk true ur mama go school reach this woman?

Ngwakwe: Can you imagine every neophytes following the opposition and majority of Northern Elites to call GEJ drunken fisherman just because he hails from Bayelsa and is Ijaw.

My Okoman, read the bold and answer the following:
What did Jonathan study?

HINT:
Fisheries (BSc)
Zoology (PhD)

Ignorance is the worst disease.