The Presidency on Sunday, refuted remarksmade by former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, over President Bola Tinubu’s role during the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
It described them as “false” and “revisionist.”
In a statement titled ‘Setting the Record Straight: President Tinubu’s Role in the June 12 Struggle’, issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the presidency expressed concern over Lamido’s comments made during a live television appearance, in which he accused Tinubu of supporting the annulment of Nigeria’s most historic election.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Saturday, Lamido said Tinubu, who was a senator under the Social Democratic Party during the election, was “a major supporter” of former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, who annulled the poll.
The statement emphasised that Lamido’s remarks amounted to a blatant distortion of Nigeria’s democratic history. The presidency defended Alhaja Mogaji, Tinubu’s mother, noting that she never aligned with any pro-annulment movement.
Part of the statement read, “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.”