Patience Jonathan's convoy was only denied access to the tarmac-FAAN

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has denied reports former first lady,Patience Jonathan was denied access to the VIP lounge in Port harcourt,based on orders from above...They say the convoy carrying the wife of the former President, Dame Patience Jonathan, was stopped from taking her to the foot of the aircraft on the tarmac of the Port Harcourt International Airport.

FAAN, in a statement on Tuesday, described the reports as misleading and mischievous.

ADVERTISEMENT its security officials did was to stop the former First Lady’s convoy from gaining access to the tarmac where her aircraft was parked.

The General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Yakubu Dati, said the security officials explained to Dame Jonathan’s team why her convoy was stopped, adding that the officials were only abiding by international safety standards.

 “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.”