My account balance is less than $10m – Patience Jonathan

Dame Patience Jonathan, wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has denied media reports that $175m is missing from her bank accounts.

Patience said her account balance as of the time it was frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was less than $10m.

She, therefore, urged the media to be fair to her and stop twisting facts.

She said this in a statement signed by her spokesman, Mr. Sam Dokubo, on Wednesday.

The statement added, “For the avoidance of doubt, while indeed it is true that Dame Patience is in court for the protection of her fundamental rights infringed upon by a ‘No debit order’ placed on her funds by the EFCC, it is not for $15m but for funds less than $10m as has been clarified several times.

“The purported story in a newspaper on November 19, 2016, about a missing $175m allegedly belonging to the former first lady is not just fictitious but plain falsehood.”

Patience said if the EFCC was looking for a ‘missing’ $175m it should ask Skye Bank where all her accounts were domiciled.

It added, “The EFCC has not made any statement to the existence of an investigation of any missing $175m linked to the former first lady.

“If any such funds as claimed, which was deposited by certain verifiable persons has gone missing without a trace from a known bank, Skye Bank, as was reported, then, the bank, its officials and those mentioned must be held to account for the funds and not the former first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who was in no way a part of the transaction.

“The claim that the money was credited to a company linked to Dame Patience Jonathan is also false; otherwise it should be officially substantiated with credible evidence by Skye Bank and the EFCC that are jointly mentioned in the report.”

Mrs. Jonathan threatened to sue media houses that continue to malign her.

Patience is suing the EFCC and Skye Bank for freezing accounts linked to her. She is also demanding a N200m settlement.