₦airaland Forum

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday
opened up on his just-concluded foreign trips and
visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the State
House, Abuja.
Why he refuted media reports that he was on self-
exile in Cote d’Ivoire, Jonathan said that he was
away from Nigeria for six weeks on international
engagement.
Through his media aide, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, the
former President in a statement, said that his
attention had been drawn “to a spurious
publication in ThisDay of Saturday, June 4, 2016
entitled ‘Buhari Holds Secret Meeting with
Jonathan, Niger Delta Tops Agenda’. We had
thought that the newspaper only set out to report
a routine meeting between the former President
and President Buhari, while speculating on the
agenda just as newspapers are wont to freely do,
especially as no statement was issued by either of
the parties.
“We are however dismayed that ThisDay, unlike
other newspapers, went beyond this brief and
turned the report into a veil for its vain and futile
attempt to justify its earlier ‘exclusive’ report, on
a speculated Jonathan’s self-exile to Cote d’Ivoire.
“We are inclined to proclaim straightaway that
this claim or any insinuation to Dr. Jonathan’s con­
templation of exile is not only false and
tendentious, but inciting. Isn’t it reprehensible
that the only truth in the ThisDay publication is
that former President Jonathan paid a visit to
President Buhari, while the rest of the content are
bogus insinuations and fabrications?
“It is surprising that, rather than apologise to the
former President and the nation for an obvious
gaffe, ThisDay continues to pursue this illusory
line of thought, which achieves nothing but
mislead its readers, even after the former
President had clearly stated that he never, at any
point in time, considered going into exile.
“We are persuaded to believe that the newspaper
is pursuing a yet-to-be-declared agenda, espe­
cially after a call earlier made, out of respect, to
the newspaper by the former President, to offer a
clarification, was deliberately misrepresented, to
agree with this premeditated conclusion.
“We are disappointed that a serious newspaper
like ThisDay could carelessly wager its reputation
and encouraging perception, by submitting itself
to such recklessness and needless sensationalism.
“We therefore seek to make the following
assertions, as a means of stating the facts:
“We maintain as Dr. Jonathan has himself stated,
that the former President has no intention of
turning his back on Nigeria, a homeland he
served diligently as President, to the best of his
abilities.
“It is instructive to note that while ThisDay
continues to insist that Jonathan came from Cote
d’Ivoire, the former President actually returned to
the country last Wednesday evening from Lon­
don, after visiting many countries including the
United States, United Kingdom, Senegal and Cote
d’Ivoire on a six-week long international
engagements and speaking tour.
“As a former President, Dr. Jonathan should be
obliged the freedom to visit President Buhari,
anytime he likes, to brief him on his international
engagements and other commitments.
“We will like to advise media houses to desist from
this fruitless predilection of Jonathan bashing, just
because it is convenient, and in tune with the
disposition in some quarters,” Eze said.

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Isn’t it reprehensible
that the only truth in the ThisDay publication is
that former President Jonathan paid a visit to
President Buhari, while the rest of the content are
bogus insinuations and fabrications?