Claim: A viral post shared by X user, @Pharmacio001, alleges that ex-president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida urged Nigerians not to vote for the All Progressives Congress.

Verdict: Misleading.

Full Story:
In 2018, a press statement issued on behalf of former military leader Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida advised the then-President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019. The statement, signed by his media aide, Prince Kassim Afegbua, expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the government and the ruling APC.

Babangida also supported calls for restructuring, particularly the devolution of powers, and stressed that Nigeria needed a new generation of leaders. He urged Nigerians to support President Buhari in completing his first term while preparing the ground for a leadership transition in 2019. He maintained that national interest should take precedence over personal ambition.

However, in 2026, a viral post resurfaced on social media claiming that Babangida explicitly urged Nigerians not to vote for the APC. The post, shared by @Pharmacio001, has attracted significant engagement, including thousands of views, likes, and comments.

See the screenshot of the post below:

@Akanni0104 expressed doubt in the post, asking: “Did Ibb say this?”

@kolakehinde77 apparently believed IBB said so, having castigated him, saying: “Who is IBB? A role model? Where were you in 1994? Probably not born then. You don’t know IBB. These are haters of democracy.

NDRFact verified the veracity of the claim credited to IBB.

Verification:
Findings show that although Babangida criticised the Buhari administration in 2018 and called for generational change, he did not explicitly instruct Nigerians to avoid voting for the APC. In fact, subsequent clarifications attributed to him denied such claims.

Media reports from credible outlets, including The Punch and PRNigeria, indicate that Babangida has previously refuted similar allegations, describing them as misrepresentations or products of misinformation, sometimes linked to parody or fake social media accounts.

IBB has also denied a political claim alleging he endorsed military intervention in Nigeria, noting that parody or fake accounts on social media were responsible for spreading disinformation about him.

Further checks also reveal that Babangida has, in other instances, been associated with statements supportive of political continuity, including remarks interpreted as favourable to President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.

Additionally, the X account responsible for the viral claim has a history of recycling misleading or outdated information, including previously debunked posts.

Conclusion:
While Ibrahim Babangida did criticise the Buhari-led administration in 2018 and advocated for a new generation of leaders, there is no evidence that he explicitly urged Nigerians to avoid voting for the APC. He has, in fact, denied making such statements. The viral claim is therefore misleading.

Please follow and like us: