Presidency Sets Record Straight on Tinubu’s June 12 Role Amid Lamido’s False Claims
Oru Leonard
The Presidency has strongly refuted recent claims made by former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, regarding President Bola Tinubu’s role during the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. According to the Presidency, Lamido’s claims are “false and revisionist”.
Lamido alleged that Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12 election and that Tinubu’s mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mobilized market women to back the annulment. However, the Presidency asserts that these claims are patently false and that Alhaja Mogaji never mobilized market women to support the annulment.
The Presidency highlights Tinubu’s steadfast advocacy for democracy, citing his condemnation of the annulment on the Senate floor on August 19, 1993. Tinubu described the annulment as “another coup d’etat” and urged Nigerians to reject injustice and lawlessness.
The Presidency notes that Tinubu played a significant role in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats that called on the military government of Sani Abacha to step down in favor of the winner of the June 12 election, MKO Abiola. Tinubu also backed Professor Wole Soyinka’s NALICON, offering material resources to fuel the struggle.
In contrast to Tinubu’s activism, the Presidency points out that Lamido, as secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), failed to oppose the military’s injustice and surrendered the people’s mandate without resistance. Lamido and other SDP leaders even teamed up with the defeated National Republican Convention to deny Abiola his mandate.
The Presidency concludes that Lamido’s attempts to rewrite history are disappointing and serve no purpose other than to tarnish Tinubu’s democratic credentials. The facts remain clear: President Tinubu was—and remains—a steadfast advocate for democracy, unlike Lamido and others who capitulated in the face of military oppression and intimidation.
Photo Credit: The Guardian Newspaper
