Residents in Asaba, Delta state capital witnessed a lull in traffic following the presence of wife of Nigeria’s present Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan who visited the state amid tight security for the launching of MasterCare Foundation, a pet project of the wife of Delta State Governor,  Roli Sheila Uduaghan. 

The launching and commissioning of the MasterCare Foundation project which is still ongoing and has gulped billions of naira has attracted lot of criticism by a section of Deltans who frowned at government wasteful spending on projects targeted at diverting state funds for personal purposes.

"I wonder the kind of government that we have. How can you commission an ongoing project with construction worker still on site? The government is unnecessarily in a hurry probably because they have something to hide.

They should have waited for the project to be completed before commissioning. We all know that this visit by the First Lady is far from what the ordinary eyes can see’, one Mr. Ebage wondered.

Although it was also revealed that the visit was an obvious plan and resolve by some political tacticians in the state to wield their influence on Mr. President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan through his wife, Patience, to forgive and forget the past errors of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for his indifference to Jonathan’s succession plan while late Yar’Adua’s ill health lasted.

Governor Uduaghan is said to have dealt unnoticeable blows on Jonathan by sponsoring the unwholesome activities of his younger cousin and former Delta governor, James Ibori who vowed to ensure that he uses northern might in strangulate Jonathan’s political grip in the presidency.

But the odds seem to have worked against Governor Uduaghan as Jonathan has since been sworn in as Nigeria’s President and Commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while Ibori having been running from the long arms of the law over corrupt charges is now cooling his heels in the hands of international police who caught him in far away Dubai.

The presence of Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan in Delta state and in the warm embrace and lavish entertainment of Governor Uduaghan and his wife has raised questions in political debates as to how far they can go in influencing and impressing those at the presidency in order to halt an alleged plan of thwarting the governor’s intention to return for a second term.

Sources close to the governor disclosed that one of his secret plans to jettison the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for another in case the powers that be at Abuja decides to work against his second term ambition recently caved in as one of his political aides and special assistant, Chief David Omoru allegedly blew the trumpet and made the plot a public issue. The governor did not only sack him but directed the State Security Service (SSS) to quiz him.

Traffic and movement in Asaba, Delta state capital was literally shut down for over six hours on the day of the First Lady and wife of Nigeria President visited, as the ever busy Onitsha-Benin expressway and all major roads in the city were cordoned off, compelling build up of traffic in and around the city as commuters and road users were stranded.

Over a thousand joint security operatives, including police, were deployed in different junctions and strategic entrances in the city as early as 8am before the arrival of the nation's first lady at exactly 10.35 am at the uncompleted Asaba International Airport aboard a Presidential chopper NAF 5N-LSG, accompanied by five other helicopters conveying dignitaries in her entourage.

She was received with a rousing welcome on arrival by the host governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan and his wife, Roli, accompanied by a retinue of personalities in the state and federal level at all arms and tiers of government and chauffeur-driven along with a multitude of women in her entourage to the International Conference Centre, venue of the ceremony.

At the venue, were hundreds of ceremonially attired women mobilized from the 25 local government areas of the state which made the visit a festival of sort as different dance groups were also at hand to welcome her.

In her address at the foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of MasterCare Foundation School and launching of Mastercare Foundation Book, Dame Jonathan called on Non-Governmental Organizations to lend a helping hand to the less privileged in the society as government alone can not cater for the needs of the people.  

She also said that women world over should not only be seen as a catalyst of social change but a major instrument for economic and political revolution.  

"Its clear that the Mastercare Foundation has been identifying with the weak, the helpless, putting smiles on the faces of people who have giving up hope, giving free medical treatment  to widows , orphans , indigent children and touching lives positively in many ways.

"I am happy that Mastercare Foundation share the vision of my NGO (A –Areri Foundation), by responding to the desire, to bring succor to the less privilege, especially women and children.

"This project is commendable because government cannot meet every need of its citizens, but as individuals and non-governmental organizations, we can instill hope and impact values in those people who have lost hope. I am an advocate of close partnership between government and charitable organizations to accomplished greater needs for the citizens. This is because many of our people depend on charitable hearts offered by kind hearted Nigeria.

"It is in view of this that I commend the vision of the Mastercare Foundation initiated by the Wife of the Governor of Delta State my dear Sister Roli Uduaghan, she has take succor, joy, good health, and sustainable empowerment to their door steps of the people of Delta State, it’s a demonstration of the will to serve the people who ordinarily will not have access to the care they now receive freely."

Wife of Delta State governor, Sheila Roli Uduaghan, and coordinator of the Mastercare Foundation, said the objective of the program is to provide economic support that will enable widows engage in more productive and rewording economic activities, which will help them to attain a higher standard of life.

The closed door meeting which lasted hours is said to have kept the Uduaghan’s at imbalance because there was no clear cut to know whether the Presidency would stand behind him.

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