What Transpired When Buhari Visited Imo: Presidency Reveals the Whole Truth, Clarifies Comment

• President Buhari held a meeting with some southeast leaders he was in Imo state on a one day visit
• The presidency has observed that Buhari’s concluding remarks at the meeting is being deliberately contorted and given different meanings
• Presidential aide, Femi Adesina, has explained what the president meant when he told the Imo state governor that he will be careful with your future invitations

FCT, Abuja - Following the twisting of what President Muhammadu Buhari said in his concluding statement during his visit to Imo state, the presidency has come out to clear the air.

Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, in a statement on his Facebook page on Sunday, September 12, said the statement was being deliberately contorted and twisted out of context.

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He stated that those who like spreading the wrong information want Nigerians to believe that the president bluntly told Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state, ‘‘I’ll be careful with your future invitations.’’

According to him, different meanings have been adduced to the phrase, contrary to the context wherein the president spoke during his dialogue with some Igbo leaders.

What Buhari really meant

Describing Buhari's visit to Imo state as a very successful one, Adesina stated that an elated President Buhari made it clear that he was expressly overwhelmed by the reception he received.

Explaining what his boss meant when he said he will be careful in future, the presidential spokesman stated that Buhari was only referring to an earlier statement.

Adesina quoted Buhari as saying:

"He didn’t tell me he was going to get the whole Igbo leadership here. So in the future when he invites me, I’ll know what to do. But I think he has done what the military didn’t like. He has achieved surprise. He has surprised me beyond description.’’

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He explained further that in the president's concluding statement, he made reference to his earlier remarks on the ‘‘surprise’’ action pulled by the governor.

"On a lighter note, he quipped: ‘‘Governor of Imo State, I cannot thank you enough, but I will be careful with your future invitations'."

Igbos are important to Nigeria

President Buhari had on Thursday, September 9, visited Imo state, which is seen as the hub of the operation of the proscribed pro-Biafra group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in Nigeria’s Southeast.

The president who said the Igbo people are relevant in Nigeria wondered why some of them are clamouring for separation.

During his visit, he told the leaders of the southeast that it is unthinkable for any Igbo man to consider himself not being part of Nigeria.

Buhari's Igbo attire stirs reactions

Social media went awash with reactions from Nigerians who aired their views on President Buhari's appearance during his one-day working visit to Imo state.

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While many felt that the president's Igbo attire (Isiagu, that is, lion's head) was not properly tailored, others went as far as calling for the designer's immediate arrest by the Department of State Service.

Another section of online commentators even dared to claim that the said tailor has been tracked and arrested by the security agency.

For the record, there was never any arrest by the DSS and reports claiming otherwise are fake news which must be avoided and jettisoned.

Source: Legit.ng