Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), has rubbished the claim by an Abuja-based daily that President Goodluck Jonathan offered to break the Ramadan fast with him but that he turned down the offer.

IBB in a statement released yesterday in Minna by his media office described the report by Peoples Daily as utterly false, saying it was very unfair for Babangida and Jonathan to be portrayed as if there was bad blood between them.

Quoting the statement: “To state the obvious, the said report is utterly false. There was no time that the president requested a breakfast meeting with General IBB, let alone turned down by the former president. In fact, former President IBB had visited President 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.

“Having served this country before and knowing the enormity of the challenges of governance, General Ibrahim 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.”

Continuing, the statement said: “It is important and appropriate on the part of the media to always cross-check their facts correctly before going around town with sensational headlines at the detriment of bona fide citizens of Nigeria, especially that of the president.

“As a trained officer of the Nigeria military, the former president is equipped with discipline and patriotism to constituted authorities at different levels of government. Given this orientation, therefore, General IBB will honour an invitation from his ward counsellor without equivocation, let alone an invitation from the number one citizen of Nigeria.

“If there was any reason to refuse any invitation, General IBB will, in his humble manner, formally inform his host or guest the reason why.”

The statement dismissed the Peoples Daily report as “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.”

•Photo shows IBB.

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