There was a report that found its way to social media saying that First Lady Patience Jonathan kept the crashed Dana aircraft for hours in the air without landing, as being responsible for the air mishap.

A statement by the Special Assistant to the President in the office of the First Lady, Ayo Osinlu, said it was a thing of regret that anyone could use the death of about 153 passengers of the ill-fated flight to weave a disparaging and image-destroying story of an imaginary VIP movement as the cause of the crash.

“We consider it callous, inhuman and devilish for anyone to have thought of wrapping such national calamity in political garb by insinuating that the plane crashed because the airspace was closed for the First Lady’s movement in Lagos.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the First Lady arrived Lagos at about 2pm on Saturday, 2nd June, 2012 for a private engagement and was billed to leave for Abuja on Monday, 4th June, 2012.

“In compliance with her itinerary, the First Lady arrived Lagos on Saturday. She was at a public event on Sunday when the accident occurred and promptly abandoned the ceremony as a mark of respect for the victims and retired to the State House, Marina. She left Lagos at exactly 13.15hrs on Monday, 4th June, 2012, according to schedule.

“It is therefore surprising that some mischievous persons will see this moment of National mourning as an opportunity to blackmail and impugn the First Lady’s integrity.

“This is the time for all Nigerians to be sober and pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and not a time to subordinate the interests of our nation to narrow self-serving interests,” the statement read.

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