Patience Jonathan’s medical trip update: Illness started in Dubai

The “food poisoning” condition that landed Mrs. Patience Jonathan in a hospital in Germany reportedly started in Dubai eleven days ago where she had gone to see a doctor because her hands were twitching.


Presidency sources said she had gone to Dubai after the recent African First Ladies Summit in Abuja, an event that imposed an unfamiliar and grueling schedule of meetings and late nights on Mrs. Jonathan, saying she needed some rest.

Her visit to Dubai was explained as a vacation but our sources said it involved a medical procedure, while in Dubai, she reportedly had “food poisoning” alongside her medical doctor, soon after she returned to Abuja last Monday, the emergency broke and she had to be airlifted to Wiesbaden, Germany for food poisoning.

Since SaharaReporters broke the news yesterday, the Presidency has officially kept mum about the First Lady’s condition. Despite a media arm recently fortified to give Mrs. Jonathan a more aggressive press presence, it has provided neither denial nor confirmation.

Last night, Ayo Adewuyi, the First Lady’s media aide, told us that he had himself only just returned from vacation, and pleaded for time to respond to our inquiries.

When we called him today to find out if he had found out Mrs. Jonathan’s whereabouts, he confirmed that she was in Germany and pleaded to let him send a press statement regarding the issue. Several hours later, he insisted that he was still working on a statement.

There have, however, been half-hearted denials and spins in some newspapers and blogs claiming that Mrs. Jonathan is only resting, but none of those outlets have provided her location or shed light on her condition.