Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has expressed anxiety over the manner in which Nigerians are being kept in the dark regarding the health of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

The party said since the First Lady discharges some of her duties with public funds, it is implicit that presidency updates Nigerians on anything that might inhibit her performance of such roles.

In a statement issued yesterday by the party National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, CPC described the handling of Patience's recent trip abroad for treatment as opaque. "It is quite sad that the Jonathan administration is treating this issue of First Lady's health in the same opaque manner that has been its trademark.

The nation's First Lady has had cause to spend public funds in the cause of performing her role as the country's first lady. "The silence of the Presidency despite wide speculations about her health is tantamount to holding the Nigerian people in contempt. It smacks of immaturity and leadership deficit," he said.