Nobody can stop me from visiting Bayelsa –Patience Jonathan

Wife of the President, Mrs. Patience
Jonathan, on Thursday said nobody
or group could threaten her if she
decided to visit any part of the
country.
Mrs. Jonathan, who spoke with one
of our correspondents through her
media assistant, Ayo Adewuyi, was
reacting to statements by some
youth groups threatening to
disgrace her if she attends the
grand rally of the Peoples
Democratic Party in Yenagoa on
February 5.
Two youth groups – Bayelsa Youth
Vanguard and the Mangrove Boys of
Bayelsa – had, in different
statements, issued in Abuja and
Yenagoa, barred the President’s
wife from accompanying her
husband to the rally in Yenagoa,
Bayelsa State capital.
The youths, who accused Mrs.
Jonathan of instigating political
crisis in the state and working
against Governor Seriake Dickson,
had vowed to embarrass and
disgrace her at the rally.
But the spokesman for the
President’s wife described the
groups as faceless.
He said Mrs. Jonathan would not be
cowed into avoiding any part of the
country because of threats from
such groups.
He said, “We will not descend so
low to be joining issues with
faceless groups.
“The fact however remains that the
First Lady as the wife of the
President cannot be threatened by
anybody or any group if she
decides to visit any part of the
country.”
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State
Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Valentine Ntomchukwu, has issued
a warning to some youth groups
threatening to disgrace the wife of
the President if she attends the
grand rally of the PDP on February
5.
Two youth groups – Bayelsa Youth
Vanguard and the Mangrove Boys of
Bayelsa – had in different
statements issued in Abuja and
Yenagoa, barred the First Lady from
accompanying her husband to the
rally in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State
capital.
But Ntomchukwu, while addressing
a select journalists in Yenagoa on
Thursday, urged members of the
public to disregard the threat,
saying it was the handiwork of
some faceless groups.
The commissioner said, “I want to
appeal to the general public to
come out in large numbers to
welcome the President and the
First Lady who have done so much
for this country. So, these
miscreants cannot disrupt the
peace of Bayelsa.
“We have been enjoying peace and
even on that day we will be
celebrating because it is the day
the President is coming, not
necessarily as the PDP, but as the
President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. So, they cannot come and
tarnish the image of President in
his home state. “
Ntomchukwu said the police would
provide adequate security for the
President’s wife and other political
groups visiting the state for rallies,
campaigns and legitimate
businesses.
He asked the BYV and the MBB to
desist from making such
provocative and inciting
statements, which he said, were
capable of puncturing the existing
peace in the state.
He added, “The police will not
hesitate to deal decisively
according to the extant laws with
any such groups when arrested. I
want to assure you that we are
already trailing the Mangrove Boys
anywhere they may be.
“So, my advice is that these boys
should just go away from the state
entirely because since they have
done this publication, they have
put themselves on the firing line
and we are definitely going to
pursue them.
“We are operating with
intelligence and all the security
agencies are at our disposal. As
soon as we catch them, they will
face the wrath of the law. Even
though they are faceless, any time
they become visible, we are
definitely going to deal with them.
“We are asking the well meaning
Nigerians to come forward and give
information not only on these boys
but on all criminal activities. We
have already identified them by
their names and we are trailing
them.”

Pay back time....