Defence Minister Refutes Claim That He Called Tinubu Drug Lord

Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, has dismissed claim that he called the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a drug lord, describing the claim as spurious.

The retired General was purportedly quoted saying: “It is an insult to the Military to have a known drug lord as C-in-C of the Armed Forces of Nigeria”.

Reacting in a statement on Saturday by his spokesperson Mohammad Abdulkadri, the Minister said “the myopic, diabolic and despotic publication can be traced to anti-democratic forces”.

Magashi accused disgruntled elements of trying to drag his reputation and that of the nation’s “apolotical military” into disparaging Tinubu.

The minister recalled he was one of the first members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) that congratulated the President-elect.

Magashi condemned the “concoction of fake news” against him at a time he is busy supervising the military in aid of civil authority to defend Nigeria’s democracy.

“The Minister’s unblemished pedigree speaks volume as a loyal member of APC alongside being a credible elderstateman in the same party with the president-elect”, the statement reads.

It added that no propaganda or blackmail targeted at Magashi and the military will deter them from dealing with any person or group whose agenda is to disrupt the May 29 inauguration.