The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has said that contrary to rumours, former First Lady, Patience Jonathan was only stopped from being driven to the tarmac not barred from using the VIP lounge at Port Harcourt International Airport.
The General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Yakubu Dati in a statement said “The former First Lady’s convoy was only denied access to the foot of the aircraft during boarding formalities at the airport in line with international aviation best practices, strictly for safety reasons, as prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Our security officials explained this fact to details of the former First Lady.
“We wish to recall that former President Goodluck Jonathan, in his recent trips from the same airport, had had to walk to the aircraft from the protocol lounge, in recognition of this ICAO regulation.
“We wish to state that no such thing happened as Dame Jonathan, like other family members of former Presidents and other designated principal officers of government, are officially entitled to the usage of airport VIP and protocol lounges under the management of FAAN.”