We've said it here before that those who live in a glass house do not throw stones.

Now the presidency camp realised that they have bitten more than they are able to chew so are now on face-saving mission.

And Instead of provideing answers to the issues raised by Buhari's camp they are "appealing" to opposition camps to thread softly as if they didn't start it.



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The Presidency Monday again pleaded with political opponents of President Goodluck Jonathan to conduct issues-based campaign and desist from mudslinging and peddling falsehood against persons, especially the president and his wife, Patience.

The appeal followed a publication imputing corruption against the First Lady on an allegation that she had already been cleared by former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who is also the presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).


A statement from the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, regretted that General Muhammadu Buhari was allegedly attacked in a statement by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign team and in response, his campaign organisation resorted to “outright use of falsehood” to tarnish the image of Mrs Jonathan.

According to Niboro, the most embarrassing aspect of the allegation was that it had been widely reported that Ribadu denied ever investigating the First Lady.


He said that every Nigerian was aware of the stance of the president on campaigns which is to centre on issues and avoid personal attacks like the mudslinging the opposition had resorted to.

Niboro said: "Our attention has been drawn to a statement in the media today in which the spokesman for the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign organization regrettably sought to cast aspersions on President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, over a matter that was laid to rest last year.


"Responding to an unfortunate statement from the PDP presidential campaign office which was certainly not authorized by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who abhors all forms of political mudslinging, Mr. Yinka Odumakin sadly chose to ignore facts that are of common knowledge and invoke falsehood, spurious insinuations and accusations.


"Mr. Odumakin cannot claim to be unaware that speaking with journalists on September 15, last year Mallam Ribadu who is now a presidential candidate himself, said as follows: 'I never handled a case against Patience Jonathan, never; it’s a lie. You know it is so sad because in our country this is how we go about maligning people. But today thank God I am not in his government. So, I can open up and talk. If I were to say it earlier people would have thought that I was looking for job from President Goodluck Jonathan. I am not looking for anything. But the truth must be told.”


Continuing on the words of Ribadu which cleared the First Lady, Niboro quoted him: “The case had to do with a lady and a man who lodged huge sums of money in the bank. The EFCC was alerted by the bank and an investigation was carried out. It was found that they legitimately earned the money through contracts executed in the state.


"All the reports in the media were lies. For instance, it was initially reported that N70 million was lodged into the bank. Later, it was reported that the money ran into millions of dollars. Such was the extent of the lies. We never handled a case against Patience Jonathan.”

He quoted reports from The Nation of September 16, 2010 and THISDAY of September 17, 2010.


He wondered how any reasoning mind could, after such widely publicised clarifications on the matter, still go ahead as if on a vengeance mission to publish falsehoods against an innocent person.