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Claim: An X user shared a video showing Patience Jonathan, the former first lady, advising her husband not to run for the presidency again.
Verdict: Misleading. Although the former first lady publicly advised her husband not to return to the Aso Rock villa, the event is not recent.
Full Text
There are strong speculations over the possibility of the former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, returning to the polls in 2027 and contesting for president. Moreover, his close relation dismissed claims that he had put off the decision to contest for the presidency in 2027.
Meanwhile, an X user, Nigeria Stories (@NigeriaStories), shared a video clip showing the former Nigerian first lady, Patience Jonathan, publicly questioning her husband on why he wants to return to the presidential villa, implying that she was not interested in the coveted position.
“Because for me, if you call me from the villa (Aso Rock), I would not even go there…The stress for Nigeria is so much… He (God) has taken you there once; why do you want to go there again? Me, I won’t,” she unequivocally stated.
The post was shared on Facebook here and Instagram (here and here).
As of Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, the post has garnered 41,400 views, 62 comments, 129 retweets, 551 likes, and 102 bookmarks.
Most people commented on how much they had missed the former first lady. Her leadership, along with her husband’s, as Nigeria’s first family, came to an end on May 29, 2015, after losing to former president Muhammadu Buhari at the 2015 general elections. Meanwhile, an X user observed that the video was not recent.
Due to the sensitive speculations surrounding the former president’s decision to run in the 2027 general elections, DUBAWA verified the video’s original context.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a Google keyword search on Patience, advising her husband not to run for president and to return to the presidential villa. We found a Television Continental (TVC) broadcast related to the event.
In the video, the former first lady publicly tells Nigeria that she “doesn’t want to return to the villa” because “the stress is too much.” She also calls out her husband, asking him why he wanted to run since he had previously held the position. She further implied that she has no desire to return to Aso Rock again.
However, DUBAWA noticed that TVC broadcast the event on June 28, 2024, which means it is over a year old.
The video clip was also reshared on TikTok in June 2024. Meanwhile, a local-based radio station in Akure, Ondo State, CREST 106.1 FM, also posted Patience’s utterances about her husband’s presidential aspirations on June 29, 2024.
Conclusion
The post is misleading as the former first lady’s comments are not recent.
