FIRST lady Dame Patience Jonathan is thought to have travelled to the UK following her husband's loss in Nigeria's recent presidential elections which were said to have left her devastated and dejected.  

Always by her husband's side during his five years as president, Dame Jonathan was also a passionate campaigner, who addressed numerous People's Democratic Party (PDP) rallies during the course of the election campaign. At one stage, she said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenger General Muhammadu Buhari would jail her and her husband if he got elected. 

Although General Buhari has since said President Jonathan has nothing to fear from an incoming APC government, the sudden flight of Dame Jonathan has raised a lot of eyebrows. While many believe that she must have been too devastated by her husband’s electoral loss to appear in public so soon, sources close to the presidency say she has travelled out of the country. 

One presidency source said that Dame Jonathan travelled to the United Kingdom during the week to sort out some domestic issues. He added: "She is in UK. She may use the opportunity of the trip to visit her children.” 

Dame Jonathan has not been seen in public since March 31 and many of the visitors to Aso Rock, who have gone to commiserate with President Jonathan, have not seen her. It is believed that she received visitors inside the president’s official on the day the election results were announced but has not been seen since. 

One former government official said: “After meeting the president in the new banquet hall located within the premised of his office, I also visited the first lady inside the president’s residence before leaving. She was in high spirits when I met her.” 

However, since then, the president’s wife had not been seen in public. She did not attend the Good Friday service held inside the Aso Villa Chapel with her husband and neither did she attend the Easter Sunday service inside the same chapel. 

Dame Jonathan and the president’s mother, Eunice, had always accompanied him to such services. Observers will be watching to see if she appears with her husband to vote in Saturday's governorship elections in Bayelsa State as they did during the presidential polls.