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The Presidency on Monday denied reports that President Goodluck Jonathan appealed to a former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, to withdraw from the 2011 presidential race.

Some national dailies ( not THE PUNCH) had in their reports on Monday that Jonathan made the appeal at a recent meeting with Babangida.

The reports also said the former miltary leader refused to accede to the President’s request.

But the Presidency, in a statement by the the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, said the reports were “unfortunate and uncharitable.”

Although Niboro admitted that a meeting between Jonathan and Babangida took place, he explained that it (meeting) was one in a series of consultations the President has had and would continue to hold with Nigeria’s former leaders over the 2011 elections.

The statement reads, “Anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with the President knows he is not one who dissuades people from pursuing their personal ambitions.

“This is even more so when there is no purpose to be served by it, since the long suffering mass of the Nigerian people would decide who governs them in a free and fair election.

“Since June 12, 1993, Nigerians have in successive elections become wiser. The next presidential elections, no matter who the candidates are, would sound a resonant Never Again!

“Never again shall the will of the Nigerian people be quashed underfoot by the vaunting ambitions of a few. This is what the President has promised Nigerians, and he is fully committed to delivering on this pledge.

“It is, therefore, unfortunate that any self- respecting newspaper(s) should lend its pages to reporting a series of lies against the person and the institution of the presidency.

“These tales are unverified and sourced from openly interested parties. They are lies, pure and simple. The fact is that President Jonathan has been meeting different leaders on different occasions and platforms.

“Some have come to inform him of their intention to run for the presidency. Others he has met with as a matter of courtesy being a sitting President.

“He has met former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar; he has met Babangida; he has met Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and will meet him again soon.

“He has met with a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; another former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari; a former Vice- President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and another former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

“He will meet with even more leaders and political actors as the race to 2011 heats up. It is extremely uncharitable for anyone to spin these meetings in such negative lights, and attempt to force the President into retreat from these well- thought out engagements with political leaders of all hue and disposition in the interest of the country.

“We think it is time to put an end to this long line of false stories and verify what is served to the general public.”

Niboro also described as untrue, reports “to the effect that the President complained to some Northern groups that visited him that some South- South governors were out to sabotage him.”

“The newspaper that reported it refused to correct this false report even after it was firmly reminded that it failed to double check its information, and that the story is completely untrue,” he said.

Meanwhile, an alleged bid to endorse the candidacy of President for the 2010 presidential poll has split members of the House of Representatives.

Investigations by our correspondent in Abuja on Monday indicated that some groups in the House had made contacts in the past few days with a view to reconvening the House next week for Jonathan’s sake.

The lawmakers have been on their annual recess since July 29, but a National Assembly source told our correspondent that the majority of those backing Jonathan wanted the House to break the recess.

The largely Peoples Democratic Party pro-Jonathan backers, were reported to be planning to table a motion before the House seeking to endorse Jonathan.

“From what we gathered, they are targeting next week (to reconvene) to see the possibility of pushing the motion through”, the source claimed.

Investigations, however, showed that the matter had split the House, as there were lawmakers who asked to be counted out of it.

When contacted, the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Mr. Ita Enang, admitted that there had been series of meetings held by lawmakers with the aim of wooing support for Jonathan.

He, however, denied knowledge of the alleged plan of the House to reconvene and pass a motion in support of the President.

“I am not aware of any plan to reconvene and pass a motion to endorse the President,” Enang stated.

When pressed further, he described Jonathan as a President “who enjoys huge goodwill from the majority of members.”

He added, “I am a member of the Friends of Democracy for Jonathan, and I will surely vote in his support, if such a motion is moved.

“If such a motion is moved, you will see that the President is popular among our members.

“His support is not only among PDP members. He has support across other party lines here.”

But, the Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Mr. Bala Na’Allah, reacted that the House might be playing an “expensive joke” if indeed it was planning such a motion.