*Says ex Jigawa Governor’s comments, “false, revisionist”
By; ALEX UANGBAOJE, Kaduna
The Presidency has issued a firm response to allegations by former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, accusing him of distorting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s role in the historic June 12, 1993, democratic struggle.
In a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, made available yesterday, the Presidency described Lamido’s recent comments on live television as “false” and “revisionist,” particularly the claim that Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12 presidential election and only became politically relevant through the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).
Lamido also alleged that Tinubu’s late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mobilised market women to support the annulment of the election won by Chief MKO Abiola. The Presidency dismissed the allegation as baseless, stating that Alhaja Mogaji would have lost her position as Lagos market leader had she done so.
“Alhaji Lamido’s claims represent a distortion of history. Let us set the record straight: Alhaja Mogaji never mobilised support for the annulment. President Tinubu, even as a Senator, firmly opposed the annulment,” the statement read.
The Presidency pointed to Senate records from August 1993, showing that then-Senator Tinubu openly condemned the annulment on the Senate floor. Tinubu had described the annulment as “another coup d’état” and criticized the military regime for violating its own laws.
The statement further accused Lamido, who was the national secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) at the time, of failing to resist the annulment. It alleged that Lamido, alongside the late SDP Chairman Tony Anenih, capitulated to military pressure and helped deny Abiola his democratic mandate.
After General Sani Abacha took power in November 1993, the statement recalled that Tinubu and other Senators continued to resist military rule, reconvened illegally, and were subsequently arrested. Tinubu later went into exile after being targeted by the junta, during which his Lagos home was bombed. In exile, he played a key role in supporting NADECO and other pro-democracy groups like Professor Wole Soyinka’s NALICON.
“It is well-known that Tinubu played a leading role in the agitation against the June 12 annulment. Many NADECO leaders and journalists openly admitted that Tinubu sustained them financially throughout the struggle,” the statement said.
While acknowledging that Lamido admitted Tinubu’s role in NADECO, the Presidency said his broader narrative was driven by envy and an attempt to undermine the President’s legacy. “We do not want to believe that Alhaji Lamido suffers from what psychologists call tall poppy syndrome,” Onanuga stated, “but the conclusion is inevitable.”
The Presidency advised Lamido to verify his claims before making public statements and warned that historical revisionism does not serve Nigeria’s democracy or national interest.
“President Tinubu was—and remains—a steadfast advocate for democracy,” the statement concluded.
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