Former Head of State,
Ibrahim Babangida has denied reports that he asked Abubakar Atiku not to run
for presidency in 2019
The former Head of
State said he didn't discuss anything like that with Atiku - He added that he
would not discourage anyone from seeking office Former Head of State.
The former Head of
State who met with Atiku at a closed-door meeting on Thursday, December 7, said
the press had no inkling of what he discussed with the former vice president
and so rumours that he told Atiku not to run are unfounded.
Babangida, who spoke
through his spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua, said the report was sponsored and it
is unfair to both the former Head of State and Atiku, Premium Times reports.
Afegbua in a statement he released on Friday,
December 8, said: “The report is very, very untrue. When I read the report, I
was laughing. Because it is far from what they both discussed. “Number one, IBB
will not discourage anyone from seeking office. IBB will encourage anyone to
seek election. “They had a very useful political discussion.
IBB also has a good
relationship with Atiku. It’s not good to play politics with the relationship
of people.” A spokesperson to Abubakar Atiku, Paul Ibe, also denied the report
that Atiku left Babangida's residence angrily after being told not to run in
2019. Ibe said: “Except those who were carrying these fake speculations were
flying on the wall, there’s no way anyone would have known what happened.
The report is a
figment of the imagination of people. "Both leaders have enjoyed a mutual
relationship for many years and what I gathered was that the meeting was very,
very fruitful."
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com
previously reported that Atiku has sent a message to President Muhammadu Buhari
saying Nigerians will decide who will be president between them by 2019. This
was in response to President Buhari’s remark that his popularity was waxing
stronger. The president made this statement when he went on a two-day trip to
Kano.
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