Michelle Obama to Deliver Speech on behalf of POTUS Ahead of Mother's Day

US First Lady Michelle Obama is to deliver her husband's weekly presidential address to condemn last month's abduction of Nigerian girls.

First ladies normally refrain from outspoken foreign policy remarks, but Mrs Obama has been a vocal campaigner for the release of more than 200 girls.

As the mother of two young daughters, Mrs Obama is taking up the opportunity to express outrage and heartbreak the president and she share over the kidnapping," White House deputy spokesman Eric Schultz said.
"The first lady hopes that the courage of these young girls serves as an inspiration... and a call to action for people around the world to fight to ensure that every girl receives the education that is their birthright", he added.

Michelle Obama has often appeared alongside her husband during the weekly address, which is broadcast on radio with a video version available online. This is the first time she will deliver the speech alone.

Earlier this week, she tweeted a picture of herself in the White House holding a sign with the message "#BringBackOurGirls".

President Obama has described the kidnapping as "heartbreaking" and "outrageous".
A small number of US and British experts have now started arriving in Nigeria to assist the government's rescue efforts.