First lady Patience Jonathan’s mother dies in crash

THERE was anxiety in Port Harcourt
on Monday as news of the death of
Mrs. Iwari-Oba, the mother of the
wife of President Goodluck Jonathan,
Patience, spread in the Rivers State
capital.
The mother of Mrs. Jonathan was
said to have been involved in a
ghastly motor accident along Elele
Road in Rivers State.
It was gathered that the woman,
who is from Okrika Local
Government Area, was on her way
to Bayelsa State when the accident
happened.
Unconfirmed report indicated that
her corpse was taken to Kpaiyama
Mortuary by a team of policemen
and a member representing Ogu
Bolo State Constituency, Mr. Evans
Bipi, who is a relative to the
deceased.
Though, the police and the Federal
Road Safety Commission in the state
could not confirm the incident, an
aide to Bipi said the First Lady's
mother died in a road accident,
which occurred at about 4pm.
Bipi's aide, Mr. Fred Itobo,
told explained that the President's
wife's mother was involved in the
accident while she was on her way
to Bayelsa State.
"Yes! She was involved in an
accident and she died. Her body has
been taken to a mortuary. Bipi was
among those who took her body to
the mortuary," Itobo said.
When contacted, the State Director
of FRSC, Dr. Kayode Olagunju,
declined comment on the matter,
saying, "I cannot say anything on
this matter now until I get full
details."
Though effort to get reactions from
the State Police Public Relations
Officer, Mrs. Angela Agabe, proved
futile, she had already told a
journalist on the telephone that she
had not been briefed on such crash.