The Presidency has dismissed as false and revisionist the allegation by former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday and titled “Setting the Record Straight: President Tinubu’s Role in the June 12 Struggle”, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, described Lamido’s claims as “a distortion of history and a regrettable attempt at revisionism.”

Lamido, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had accused Tinubu of rewriting history and alleged that his mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mobilised support for the annulment of the election believed to have been won by Chief Moshood Abiola.

However, the Presidency rebutted the claim, insisting that both President Tinubu and his late mother were firmly aligned with the pro-democracy movement at the time.

“Alhaja Mogaji never mobilised market women to support the annulment. Had she done so, she would have lost her position as a respected market leader in Lagos,” the statement read.

Onanuga further accused Lamido, alongside the late Chief Tony Anenih—then chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP)—of betraying Abiola’s mandate by aligning with the defeated National Republican Convention (NRC) and failing to resist the military regime’s injustice.

“As SDP secretary, Lamido was part of a leadership that surrendered the people’s mandate without resistance. History will not forget that betrayal,” he stated.

The Presidency emphasized President Tinubu’s firm stance against the annulment, recalling his condemnation of the act on the Senate floor on August 19, 1993—just days after General Ibrahim Babangida announced plans to step aside.

Quoting Tinubu’s remarks from the Senate record, the statement noted:

“The abortion of the June 12 election is another coup d’état. When are we going to stop tolerating injustice and abuse by the people on whom we invested public trust?”

The statement also highlighted Tinubu’s continued resistance after General Sani Abacha dissolved democratic institutions in November 1993. It noted that Tinubu, alongside other senators, reconvened in Lagos in defiance of the regime, was arrested, and detained at Alagbon before facing fabricated charges.

While in detention, the Presidency said, Tinubu funded protests across Lagos, including the blockade of the Third Mainland Bridge, as part of the broader pushback against the annulment.

“Tinubu continued to support pro-democracy efforts while in detention and exile. His commitment never wavered,” Onanuga added.

The Presidency further noted that Tinubu fled into exile after Abiola’s arrest in 1994, becoming a key financier and strategist within the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a coalition that demanded the military relinquish power to Abiola.

It added that Tinubu also supported Professor Wole Soyinka’s NALICON movement, which operated internationally to sustain pressure on the Abacha regime.

“Tinubu was not just a member of NADECO; he was one of its leading lights. He provided material and financial support to many pro-democracy activists, journalists, and civil rights leaders in exile and at home,” the statement said.

Photographic evidence, it noted, still exists showing Tinubu with Abiola and Abacha, indicating his closeness to the epicenter of the June 12 movement before Abacha’s eventual crackdown.

The Presidency accused Lamido of attempting to rewrite history for political gain, describing him as a member of the “Coalition of the Disgruntled.”

“It is disappointing that despite acknowledging Tinubu’s role in NADECO, Lamido now attempts to diminish his contributions and twist the facts. This is not only intellectually dishonest but reeks of envy,” Onanuga charged.

Concluding, the Presidency advised Lamido to “check his facts” and refrain from misinforming the public on sensitive matters of national history.

“President Tinubu remains a steadfast advocate of democracy. Unlike those who capitulated under military pressure, he stood firm—and history is clear on this.”