Tinubu led pro-democracy struggle while Lamido made deals with Abacha – Presidency

By Kunle Sanni –

The Presidency has dismissed allegations by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, accusing President Bola Tinubu of supporting the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, describing the claims as a distortion of Nigeria’s democratic history.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency clarified that Tinubu was a vocal opponent of the annulment and suffered personal losses for standing by democratic ideals.

Onanuga noted that while key leaders of the then-ruling Social Democratic Party (SDP), including Lamido—who served as the party’s national secretary—compromised with the military and abandoned the mandate freely given to Moshood Abiola, Tinubu stood firm in resistance.

“President Tinubu was a front-line figure in the fight against military injustice. He condemned the annulment on the Senate floor and continued the resistance even after Abacha dissolved democratic institutions,” Onanuga said.

He added that Tinubu went into exile, risking his life and livelihood to sustain the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate, while Lamido and others negotiated with General Sani Abacha for political survival.

The Presidency also rejected claims that Tinubu’s late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, supported the annulment, calling the allegation a baseless attempt to tarnish the family’s democratic legacy.

“Many NADECO leaders, journalists, and pro-democracy activists have publicly attested to Tinubu’s moral and material support for the anti-military struggle,” Onanuga said.

He reaffirmed President Tinubu’s legacy as a committed democrat who stood on the side of the people during one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s political history.