Lekan Abiola, son of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola the presumed winner of Nigeria’s annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election has disclosed that former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), privately apologised to the family for the controversial annulment.
Speaking during the MKO Abiola Memorial Symposium in Lagos, ahead of the release of a forthcoming biography titled “MKO Abiola: Symbol of Democracy,” Lekan said the apology was first offered in private but later echoed by Babangida in public statements.
“After we returned from the United States, we had a meeting with IBB. He apologised to us behind closed doors,” he told reporters. “Later, when he publicly acknowledged that MKO won the election and expressed regret over the annulment, it was simply a confirmation of what he had already said to us in private.”
Lekan described the public apology as “long overdue” but significant in closing a painful chapter.
“It’s like being assaulted in public and only receiving an apology in private,” he said. “Now that he’s publicly admitted MKO’s victory and the full election results have been released, there’s no longer any ambiguity. That part of history is settled.”
He also noted that Babangida now sends a representative each year to attend the June 12 commemorations an act he sees as a symbolic gesture of acknowledgment.
Meanwhile, MKO Abiola’s children are calling on President Bola Tinubu to formally legislate June 12 as Democracy Day, ensuring its recognition is preserved beyond the current administration.
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