STATE HOUSE
PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT
JONATHAN THANKS NIGERIANS FOR SOLIDARITY
President
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan thanks all patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians,
including his supporters, friends and political associates who expressed and conveyed their sympathies
and solidarity with him, through various means, following the announcement of his
sudden indisposition while on a mission to attract greater investments to
accelerate the growth of the Nigerian economy in keeping with his agenda for
national transformation.
The
Presidency also commends the generality of the mainstream media whose coverage
of the President's slight health challenge in London was mostly factual,
objective, fair-minded and supportive.
We however
condemn the utterly irresponsible, deplorable, highly unprofessional and
unethical antics of certain fringe elements operating in the nebulous sphere of
cyberspace who persist in seizing every opportunity to unjustifiably malign and
impugn the character and integrity of the elected leader of their country.
It is very
regrettable indeed that after, in compliance with President Jonathan's standing
instruction that Nigerians must never be kept in the dark about the state of
his health, the public was duly informed that the President had received
precautionary medical attention for an unexpected indisposition in London,
Sahara Reporters and some other reckless, lawless, impudent and unpatriotic
internet-based media chose to assault the sensibilities of all decent Nigerians
again with their entirely fictional, malicious,
hate-driven and scurrilous distortion of the facts of the
President's indisposition.
The suggestion
by Sahara Reporters that President Jonathan took ill following a "heavy birthday party thrown to celebrate
the President's 56th birthday at his Presidential suite in the InterContinental
Hotel in London" is fictional nonsense as there was definitely no party in
London to celebrate President Jonathan's birthday on Wednesday night.
The truth is
that President Jonathan observed his 56th birthday anniversary
quietly. For part of the day, he was airborne, in transit
between Abuja and London. On arrival in London, he spent the rest of the day in
the privacy of his hotel room. It has never been his custom to
celebrate birthday anniversaries and no exception was made this year. No
birthday party was therefore held for the President in London and there was
certainly no drinking spree as Sahara Reporters claimed.
As unregulated as they are, Sahara Reporters and their ilk
are not beyond the bounds of legal action for libel and willful defamation of the character
and reputation of a President who has courageously stepped forward to serve his
country.
They know very well that they can never substantiate or prove the
constant false allegations and innuendoes they publish for the sole purpose of
negatively portraying President Jonathan and his
administration.
Their
incessant claim of a bibulous President is pure fiction and blackmail, and the
product of malicious imagination. We warn that our forbearance of
their disrespectful caricaturing of the President is not limitless.
The
Presidency will like to reiterate the trite point that no human being is beyond
health challenges irrespective of their station in life. Sadly, this
commonplace fact appears to be beyond the understanding of the publishers of
Sahara Reporters who seem to have lost all sense of propriety, decency and
human compassion.
The
President is comforted by the prayers, support and overwhelming goodwill of the
people of Nigeria, fully assured that the forces of good will continue to
triumph over the forces of darkness in our land.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 23, 2013
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