Monday, June 23, 2025 - Contrary to a recent comment made by Alhaji Sule Lamido, the presidency has reacted that it never supported the annulment of June 12, election won by Chief MKO Abiola
In statement made available to Daily Champion the presidency stated ‘’ The
attention of the Presidency has been drawn to recent comments made by Alhaji
Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State, on live television, in which he
falsely accused President Bola Tinubu of supporting the annulment of the June
12, 1993, presidential election.
Alhaji Lamido’s claims represent a distortion of history and
a regrettable attempt at revisionism. He alleged that President Tinubu only
rose to prominence after the formation of NADECO and claimed that Tinubu’s
mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mobilised market women to back the annulment.
These allegations are patently false.
Let us set the record straight: Alhaja Mogaji never
mobilised market women to support the unjust annulment. Had she done so, she
would have lost her position as market leader in Lagos. While she once had a
personal relationship with then-President Babangida, this was before the
annulment crisis.
It is important to remind Nigerians that Alhaji
Lamido, as secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP)—the party whose
candidate, MKO Abiola, won the June 12 election—was among those who failed to
oppose the military’s injustice. The SDP leadership, including Lamido and
chairman Tony Anenih, wrote their names in the book of infamy by surrendering
the people’s mandate without resistance. To their eternal shame, Lamido and
Anenih teamed up with the defeated National Republican Convention to deny Abiola
his mandate.
In sharp contrast, Senator Bola Tinubu stood firm even
before General Abacha dissolved the political parties and all democratic
institutions, including the National Assembly, on November 17, 1993, following
his coup.
Days after General Babangida addressed the Senate and
announced his decision to step aside on August 27, 1993, the setting up of an
interim government to replace him, Senators debated the speech. On the Senate
floor on August 19, 1993, Tinubu unequivocally condemned the annulment,
describing it as another coup d’état and urging Nigerians to reject injustice
and lawlessness.
The records captured his contribution, showing that he
supported upholding the June 12 election, not against it, as Lamido claimed.
“We have a situation that suggests that the abortion of the
June 12 election is another coup d’etat,” Senator Tinubu said. “My question is,
when are we going to stop tolerating injustices, coup d’etat and abuse by the
people on whom we invested so much resources—the public funds of this country?
… Yes, it is true that we have a crisis, but for every action, there must be a
reaction. This is a self-inflicted crisis because, without the abortion or
annulment of the June 12 election, there would be no crisis like this. We have
a government that made the law and abused its law. Therefore, the present
military administration, by virtue of abrogation and violation of its own
decree, has committed a crime,” the Senator from Lagos West told his
colleagues.
The election winner, Abiola, was out of the country when the
legislators debated Babangida’s offer to step aside for an interim government.
He returned in September 1993. And who followed him to the Abacha military
group, then openly planning a coup against the Ernest Shonekan-led ING? It was
Tinubu. Photographs exist today, showing Tinubu behind Abiola and Abacha.
Abacha took over on November 17, 1993, and dissolved
all democratic institutions, including governors, the National Assembly, and
the state legislature. Tinubu and a group of senators reconvened in Lagos,
defying the junta. Tinubu, Ameh Ebute, Abu Ibrahim, and others were arrested
and kept at Alagbon. The police took them to court and fabricated a case
against them. While in police detention, Tinubu continued to fund pro-June 12
protests in Lagos, including the blockade of the Third Mainland Bridge.
Weeks after Abacha supplanted the ING, it quickly
became clear to Abiola and Tinubu that Abacha would not be a soldier of
democracy as he reneged on allowing Abiola to reclaim his mandate.
Enter the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). It
was born on May 15, 1994. Comprising a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats,
it called on the military government of Sani Abacha to step down in favour of
the winner of the June 12, 1993, election, MKO Abiola. On the first anniversary
of his election, Abiola made a declaration at Epetedo in Lagos, announcing
himself as the duly elected president. Ten days after, on June 22, he was
arrested, following which many pro-democracy activists also escaped from Nigeria,
including Bola Tinubu. Tinubu lived in exile for nearly five years while Lamido
and his ilk made deals with Abacha. While Tinubu was away, agents of the junta
bombed his home in Balarabe Musa Crescent, Victoria Island.
Thankfully, Lamido admitted that Tinubu played a significant
role in NADECO. Indeed, Tinubu did more. He also backed Professor Wole
Soyinka’s NALICON, offering material resources to fuel the struggle.
It is well-known that Tinubu played a leading role in
the agitation against the June 12 annulment. Many NADECO leaders and
journalists in exile and at home openly admitted that Tinubu sustained them and
provided them with funds for the struggle.
With his narrative, Lamido appeared confused about the
role of NADECO. It was an offshoot of the June 12 crisis. NADECO provided a
platform to channel the struggle. Hitherto, all the resistance was left to
civil rights groups, journalists, and a section of labour, such as NUPENG.
It is thus disappointing that Alhaji Lamido, despite
acknowledging Tinubu’s NADECO role, would attempt to rewrite history for
political reasons and being a member of the Coalition of the Disgruntled.
We advise Lamido to check his facts before going on
television to spread falsehoods. It does not help his image, and the coalition
he belongs to engages in revisionism. Revisionism does not serve the cause of
truth or our nation’s interests.
We do not want to believe that Alhaji Lamido suffers
from what psychologists call tall poppy syndrome. However, the conclusion is
inevitable as it appears that Lamido is envious of Tinubu’s democratic
credentials. The facts remain clear: President Tinubu was—and remains—a
steadfast advocate for democracy, in contrast to the record of Lamido and
others who capitulated in the face of military oppression and intimidation.
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