The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Thursday, led a delegation to visit former Super Eagles winger, Tijani Babangida, in Abuja.
Obi’s campaign spokesman, Yunusa Tanko, disclosed this in a statement issued in the Federal Capital Territory.
The 50-year-old former Ajax FC star broke his right leg in a fatal auto accident that claimed the lives of his son and younger brother, Ibrahim Babangida, last month.
Ibrahim was also an ex-international who played for Nigeria at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup winning team.
Tijani’s wife was also seriously injured in the crash.
Consoling the family, the former Anambra State governor said Nigerians cannot forget how the Babangidas made the nation proud.
He said, “They made the nation proud and made us happy with their talents. In times like this, they deserve our sympathy and attention. I came to commiserate with him for the injury he sustained, the loss of his loved one, the trauma and to show him that he is not forgotten.”
While appreciating the gesture, Tijani, who was clutching his heavily bandaged leg, narrated the harrowing experience of the accident.
The President of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria further told Obi how he has been getting financial aid and support through his former colleagues and Ajax football club.
Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold medalist and the General Secretary of the PFAN, Emmanuel Babayaro, who was with Tijani when Obi visited, also thanked him, saying such a kind gesture is necessary to encourage the ex-player.
