The Presidency has described as false and misleading, claims by former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido that President Bola Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Lamido had made the allegation in an interview with Arise TV, where he said Tinubu was “actively hand-in-glove with Babangida,” who annulled the election presumed to have been won by Moshood Abiola.
“He was part of those people who supported Babangida’s annulment of June 12,” Lamido said.
“His own mother, Hajiya Mogaji from Lagos, was organising Lagos market women to come to Abuja to pledge support for Babangida.”
Lamido further alleged that Tinubu only became relevant in the struggle for June 12 after General Sani Abacha seized power.
“Now, it was only when Babangida took over government that Tinubu then became our so-called activist of June 12th,” he said.
“I feel highly entertained by Tinubu’s rhetoric, the way he’s dramatising his role in Nigeria’s democracy.”
But in a statement on Sunday titled “Setting the record straight: President Tinubu’s role in the June 12 struggle,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Lamido’s claims were “a distortion of history and a regrettable attempt at revisionism.”
He said, “The claims made by Lamido that President Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12 election and that his mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, led a campaign in support of the annulment are patently false.”
“Had she done so, she would have lost her position as the leader of market men and women in Lagos. Instead, the Lagos chapter of the SDP and the broader civil society community in the South-west, of which Asiwaju Tinubu was a prominent member, rose in unison to condemn the annulment.”
Onanuga said Lamido and his party leader at the time, the late Tony Anenih, “wrote their names in the book of infamy by surrendering the people’s mandate without resistance” after the annulment.
He said Tinubu, who was elected senator in 1992, condemned the annulment on the floor of the Senate on August 19, 1993, describing it as “another coup d’état” and a violation of the people’s will.
He continued: “Following the overthrow of the interim government led by Chief Ernest Shonekan on November 17, 1993, Asiwaju Tinubu and other senators convened in Lagos to strategise on how to resist military dictatorship.
“They were arrested at the National Theatre and taken to Alagbon before being moved to a military facility in Apapa. Tinubu and other senators were later released but were placed under 24-hour surveillance.
“Despite these challenges, Asiwaju Tinubu provided financial support to pro-democracy groups and funded a major rally on the annulment of the June 12 election, which included blocking the Third Mainland Bridge while he was still in detention.
“He later fled the country through Benin Republic and continued to support the struggle in exile as a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which was formed on May 15, 1994.”
According to the statement, Tinubu also funded the United Democratic Front of Nigeria (UDFN), Radio Kudirat and other initiatives like Prof Wole Soyinka’s NALICON, which campaigned globally for the restoration of democracy.
“President Tinubu risked his life, lost assets, and suffered forced exile, all in pursuit of a democratic Nigeria,” Onanuga added.
“In contrast, Lamido and his associates stood on the wrong side of history and were part of the betrayal that denied Nigerians the mandate they gave to Abiola.”
The presidency accused Lamido of suffering from “tall poppy syndrome” and trying to diminish Tinubu’s role in the democratic struggle.
“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,” the statement said.