Former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, has distanced himself from a post claiming he endorsed military rule over democratic governance. In a statement released through his media office and signed by Mahmud Abdullahi in Minna, Babangida reiterated his commitment to democratic rule and urged all Nigerians to embrace and support democracy.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a post on a parody account on X, formerly known as Twitter, which carries the handle, @General_Ibbro, in which former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR, was supposed to have endorsed the virtues of military rule over democratic governance.
“This dubious account carries our principal’s picture and name and the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for added effect but it does not belong to him nor does the former President sanction any post appearing there.”
The statement further clarified that the former president did not endorse any particular presidential candidate or party in the past, as falsely claimed by the same account. Babangida emphasized his belief in the resilience of Nigeria’s democracy and its necessity for overcoming current national challenges.
“For the avoidance of doubt, General Babangida (rtd) believes that Nigeria’s democracy is resilient and has come to stay and that we must do everything we can to safeguard the process,” the statement read. He expressed his pride in the Nigerian military’s support for multiple democratic governments since 1999 and reiterated that military intervention in Nigeria’s politics is a thing of the past.
Babangida urged the public to disregard any statements from the parody account, which he noted has a history of spreading falsehoods and undermining democracy.
