Presidency Slams Sule Lamido Over Claims Tinubu Backed June 12 Annulment

The Presidency has fired back at former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, over his recent comments suggesting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu supported the annulment of the historic June 12, 1993, presidential election, calling the claims false and an attempt to distort history.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday, June 22, 2025, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, the Presidency described Lamido’s remarks as “a regrettable attempt at revisionism” and challenged his credibility and record during Nigeria’s pro-democracy struggle.

Lamido had alleged on live television that President Tinubu only became politically relevant after the formation of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), and further claimed that Tinubu’s late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mobilized market women to support the annulment of the election won by MKO Abiola. The Presidency, however, dismissed the allegations as “patently false.”

“Had Alhaja Mogaji truly mobilised support for the annulment,” Onanuga wrote, “she would have lost her position as leader of market women in Lagos. Her association with then-President Babangida ended long before the June 12 crisis began.”

The statement further accused Lamido—who served as the National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) during the June 12 saga—of being part of the group that “surrendered the people’s mandate without resistance.” According to the Presidency, Lamido and other SDP leaders at the time, including Tony Anenih, aligned with the rival National Republican Convention (NRC) and effectively abandoned Abiola’s cause.

In contrast, the Presidency described Tinubu as a vocal and consistent opponent of the annulment even before NADECO was formed. Quoting Tinubu’s Senate speech on August 19, 1993, the statement recalled how the then-Senator from Lagos West condemned the annulment as “another coup d’état” and accused the military regime of violating its own decrees.

The statement highlighted Tinubu’s active resistance following General Sani Abacha’s seizure of power in November 1993. According to Onanuga, Tinubu and a group of lawmakers reconvened in Lagos after the dissolution of democratic institutions, defying the military regime. He, alongside others, was arrested and charged by the police, yet continued funding pro-June 12 protests, including a notable blockade of Lagos’s Third Mainland Bridge.

The statement also recounted Tinubu’s subsequent exile following MKO Abiola’s arrest after his June 11, 1994, self-declaration as Nigeria’s rightful president. “Tinubu lived in exile for nearly five years, while Lamido and others cut deals with the Abacha regime,” the Presidency stated, adding that Tinubu’s home in Lagos was bombed by junta agents during that period.

It further credited Tinubu with not only being a founding figure in NADECO, but also providing financial support to other pro-democracy groups like Professor Wole Soyinka’s NALICON. “Many NADECO leaders and journalists have openly acknowledged that Tinubu sustained them during the dark days of the struggle,” it added.

While noting that Lamido had himself admitted Tinubu’s role in NADECO, the Presidency said his attempt to downplay that contribution while smearing the president’s democratic legacy was politically motivated and driven by “tall poppy syndrome”—a term used to describe those who seek to bring down accomplished figures out of envy.

“We advise Lamido to check his facts before going on national television to spread falsehoods. Revisionism does not serve the cause of truth or national unity,” the statement warned.

The rebuttal comes at a time of growing political polarization, with Tinubu’s past and present under renewed scrutiny from critics and allies alike.
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