ABUJA — Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, has dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, insisting the President was deeply involved in efforts to restore the mandate of the presumed winner, the late Chief MKO Abiola.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, Alake — who served as editor of Sunday Concord, a publication owned by Abiola — rebuffed recent remarks by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, describing them as “false,” “revisionist,” and an attempt to cover up his own role during that period.
“I was not just reporting the June 12 struggle; I was in the thick of it,” Alake said. “Tinubu played a crucial role — from persuading Atiku Abubakar to step down for Abiola at the SDP primaries, to organising the protests that followed the annulment.”
He revealed that Tinubu was a central figure in negotiations at the SDP convention in Jos, March 1993, where Atiku stepped down for Abiola, a deal brokered under the guidance of the late General Shehu Yar’Adua.
Responding directly to Lamido’s allegation that Tinubu only joined the movement after the election was annulled, Alake stated: “The protests of June and July 1993 were planned and executed with Tinubu as one of the organisers. Where was Lamido then?”
Alake also recounted Tinubu’s involvement in post-annulment events, including efforts to secure flight clearance for Abiola and a critical meeting with General Sani Abacha following the military takeover in November 1993.
“That famous photo of MKO, Tinubu, and Abacha? Tinubu escorted Abiola that day to negotiate with Abacha. I was there. It had been discussed and arranged the night before,” he said.
He accused Lamido of “selective amnesia” and challenged him to state his own contributions during the critical days of the June 12 crisis.
The 1993 presidential election, widely seen as Nigeria’s freest and fairest, was annulled by then-military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida, triggering nationwide unrest and years of pro-democracy struggle. Tinubu, a senator at the time, was among the exiled activists who formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) in opposition to military rule.
Alake maintained that history must not be distorted, insisting Tinubu’s commitment to democracy was unwavering from the outset.
