Former Military President General Ibrahim Babangida has disassociated himself from a parody account on X (formerly Twitter) that purportedly endorsed military rule over democratic governance.
In a statement signed by Mahmud Abdullahi and released from his media office in Minna, Babangida clarified, “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.”
The statement continued, “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 refuted claims made by the account, which had previously posted false endorsements of presidential candidates, stating, “We want to state unequivocally that neither the Twitter or X account, which is essentially a parody or pretend account, nor the statement made therein ever belonged to the retired General.”
It emphasized General Babangida’s commitment to democracy, asserting, “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 concluded with a call for vigilance, advising media practitioners and social media users to verify information before sharing, “We are again obliged to advise the general public to ignore any post from this account that purportedly claims to represent my opinion.”