I took Jonathan train because my Range Rover developed fault – Mercy Johnson

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QEDNG
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Mercy JohnsonNollywood actress, Mercy Johnson, on Wednesday released an official statement on why she boarded a train in Lagos on Monday, March 2.

Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Reno Omokri, sent a Twitter message with the picture of Mercy and her daughter travelling on what is referred to as GEJ train on Tuesday, prompting many to think the ride was a campaign stunt by Aso Rock ahead of the March 28 presidential election.

The mother of two, however, claims that the ride became necessary after her Range Rover SUV suddenly developed a mechanical fault in Iddo and she had to be at a meeting in Ikeja.

Shedding the toga of celebrity, the Dumebi the Dirty Girl actress was convinced by a member of her management team to go on a train ride with “ordinary people”.

Sidestepping politics, the young woman from Okene in Kogi State explained how she got on the train.

On a day that also saw Toyin Aimakhu release a statement on her “I will die for PDP” declaration, it seems that next to selfies, press releases are the fad among Nigerian celebs.

The following is Mercy’s official statement on her train ride:

“My picture and that of my daughter, Purity in a Lagos train has surfaced online and quite a number of people have asked me what I was doing in a train and in Lagos for that matter; not Paris or London.

“I was around Iddo at Ebute Metta when my Range Rover developed a mechanical fault and I had to make a very important appointment in Ikeja regardless of the usual traffic congestion in Lagos. Luckily, a member of my management team was around, he suggested a train ride and we were in Ikeja in less than 30 minutes but that is not the crux of this statement.

“Like I mentioned earlier, I have had to answer questions in private and public as to why I would board a train because trains in Nigeria are considered a means of transportation for the ordinary and not-so-rich people. A friend called and said I just devalued my brand by being on the train with ordinary people.  I couldn’t help but laugh. Are we extra ordinary people because we are celebrities?

“In as much as I understand the concept of branding, packaging and exclusiveness, I will never trade the experience to sit, interact and feel the pulse of so-called ordinary people.

“By the way, I am part of the ordinary people. I grew up as an ordinary person among ordinary people. Why would I avoid them now? Would that be because I am now famous? Without these ordinary people, how would I have been famous in the first place?  Without the so called ordinary people, where would Nigeria’s growing population of so-called well packaged celebrities be today?

“For the purpose of clarification, I was not on that train due to lack of money to get a well packaged cab or to get somebody to bring another car from the house but,  my car developed an unforeseen fault and I needed a fast , reliable and convenient alternative immediately as there was urgent business to be attended to and I respect time a lot.

“The train was available where I was; most importantly, I did not want to turn down the opportunity to be with the people who would ordinarily not have access to me so I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and here we are. I want to thank my co-passengers, officials of the train for treating me with absolute respect and courtesy, I am indeed, very grateful.”