Former
Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, has denied ever getting any
invitation to have breakfast with President Goodluck Jonathan, let alone
rejecting it.
Reacting
to a newspaper publication to the effect that he rejected an invitation to have
breakfast with Jonathan, Babangida, in a statement from his office yesterday,
stated that he had respect for the office of the president and therefore,
could not have rejected any invitation to have breakfast with the president.
He
stated that he had visited Jonathan twice, since he assumed office and had a
good relationship with him and therefore, had no cause to have rejected an
invitation to have breakfast with him.
The
statement reads: “Former President Ibrahim Babangida, in his usual humility, respects
the person and office of the President of the country, Dr. Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan. There was no time the President requested for a breakfast meeting
with General IBB, let alone turned down by the former President. In fact,
former President IBB had visited President Goodluck Jonathan more than twice
since his assumption of office, meetings which afforded the two leaders the
opportunity to brainstorm on the challenges confronting the country.”
Stating
that it was unfair to him and Jonathan for anybody to portray them in a manner
that suggests that there was bad blood between them. The statement said:
“Having served this country before and knowing the enormity of the challenges
of governance, General Babangida will be more than willing to have unconditional
breakfast meeting or any other meeting for that matter with the President and
Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. While General IBB will be
looking forward to any of such invitation now and in the near future, it is
important and appropriate on the part of the media to always cross-check their
facts correctly before publishing sensational headlines at the detriment of
bona fide citizens of Nigeria, especially that of the President.”
The
statement stated that as a trained military officer, Babangida is “equipped
with discipline and patriotism .”
It
also stated that with his orientation, Babangida would “honour an invitation
from his ward counselor without equivocation, let alone an invitation from the
number one citizen of Nigeria.”
The statement
stated that if there was any reason for Babangida to refuse any invitation, he
would “in his humble manner, formally inform his host or guest the reason why,”
adding: “The publication under reference therefore, is utterly out of place and
a concocted one aimed at putting the two elder statesmen in bad light. We hope
the media will take correction and reflect these views accordingly and with
similar prominence.”
Source: Sun
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