“Tinubu Was Part of Those Who Supported June 12 Annulment” – Sule Lamido

Former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido has alleged that President Bola Tinubu supported the annulment of the historic June 12, 1993, presidential election. Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Saturday, Lamido said Tinubu played a role in backing the decision of the then military head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida, to void the election widely believed to have been won by Chief MKO Abiola.

Lamido claimed that Tinubu’s mother, the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, organized market women from Lagos to travel to Abuja to show solidarity with Babangida in the wake of the annulment. According to him, this act signaled the Tinubu family’s alignment with the military regime at the time.

He also challenged the popular narrative surrounding the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), asserting that the group was formed not to restore the June 12 mandate, but rather to oppose General Sani Abacha’s dictatorship. “Tinubu became relevant and noticeable after Abacha took over the government; before then, he was in the Senate while he was secretary of the party,” Lamido said. “He was part of those who supported IBB’s annulment of the June 12 election.”

He dismissed Tinubu’s continued portrayal as a frontline democrat and key player in the pro-democracy struggle, describing it as theatrical. “I feel highly entertained by Tinubu’s rhetoric, the way he’s dramatising his role in Nigeria’s democracy,” Lamido remarked.

The annulled June 12 election is widely regarded as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history, with MKO Abiola emerging as the presumed winner before the process was halted by Babangida’s regime.