Ailing Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, could not speak for three days after being afflicted with food poisoning, it has been reported.

The flamboyant wife of President Goodluck Jonathan was only able to speak again yesterday, four days after she was airlifted to Wisbanden, Germany, for treatment following her food poisoning mid-last week.

A report in the US-based online newspaper SaharaReporters quoted Presidency sources as saying that Dame Jonathan “was only able to speak earlier today (yesterday), four days after her arrival, because the illness had been so severe that she lost her voice.”

It is not clear if Dame Jonathan, who is also a Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State civil service, is being treated in Wisbanden or if she has been moved to another location.

Details of what food the First Lady ate, who prepared it and who served it are also not yet available.

As previously reported by News Express, Dame Jonathan, who turned 55 in July, has lately been quiet and largely out of public view following harsh criticisms of her alleged lavish lifestyle and constant seeking of the limelight.

*Photo: First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan