The Nigerian Presidency has issued a strong rebuttal to allegations made by former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, who accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of backing the annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election.
Speaking during a live television broadcast, Lamido claimed that Tinubu only gained political relevance following the emergence of the pro-democracy group, NADECO. He also alleged that Tinubu’s late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mobilised market women in support of the annulment—an assertion the Presidency dismissed as “patently false”.
In a statement released on Sunday and titled_ “Setting the Record Straight”, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, described Lamido’s remarks as “a distortion of history and a regrettable attempt at revisionism”.
“Let us set the record straight,” the statement read. “Alhaja Mogaji never mobilised market women to support the annulment. Had she done so, she would have lost her position as market leader in Lagos.”
The Presidency went further to spotlight Lamido’s own role during the June 12 crisis. At the time, he served as National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and, alongside the party’s then Chairman, Tony Anenih, was accused of having “surrendered the people’s mandate without resistance”.
“They aligned with the defeated National Republican Convention (NRC) to deny Chief MKO Abiola his rightful victory,” the statement said.
In contrast, the Presidency defended Tinubu’s democratic credentials, noting that as Senator representing Lagos West, he was one of the few voices in the National Assembly to publicly oppose the annulment prior to the emergence of General Sani Abacha’s military regime on 17 November 1993.
Citing Tinubu’s Senate contribution on 19 August 1993, the statement quoted him as saying:
“We have a situation that suggests that the abortion of the June 12 election is another coup d’état… The present military administration, by virtue of abrogation and violation of its own decree, has committed a crime.”
Following Abacha’s assumption of power, Tinubu reportedly aligned with Chief Abiola in resisting the military regime. He was subsequently arrested, along with a number of other senators, after attempting to reconvene a dissolved parliament in Lagos.
“Tinubu, along with Ameh Ebute, Abu Ibrahim, and others, was detained at Alagbon and charged. Even while in detention, he continued to fund pro-June 12 demonstrations, including the blockade of the Third Mainland Bridge,” the statement added.
The Presidency concluded by urging Nigerians to remain vigilant against attempts to rewrite history and downplay the efforts of individuals who stood firm in defence of democracy.
