The Presidency has strongly denied allegations by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido that President Bola Tinubu supported the annulment of the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election.

In a statement titled “Setting the Record Straight: President Tinubu’s Role in the June 12 Struggle,” presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga dismissed Lamido’s claim as a “distortion of history” and an act of political revisionism.

Lamido had alleged that Tinubu gained prominence only after the formation of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and that his mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mobilized support for the annulment. Onanuga refuted both assertions, calling them “patently false.”

“Alhaja Mogaji never mobilised market women to support the unjust annulment. Had she done so, she would have lost her position as market leader in Lagos,” Onanuga said.

He turned the spotlight on Lamido’s own role, accusing him and former SDP Chairman Tony Anenih of surrendering the party’s mandate without resistance. According to Onanuga, while Lamido and other SDP leaders “teamed up with the NRC,” Tinubu was one of the few politicians who openly condemned the annulment and stood with the people.

“On August 19, 1993, Tinubu denounced the annulment on the Senate floor, calling it another coup d’état. He urged Nigerians to reject injustice,” the statement said.

Onanuga added that Tinubu backed MKO Abiola consistently, even after General Sani Abacha dissolved the interim government and democratic structures.

“Tinubu was one of the first to support Abiola upon his return to Nigeria and stood behind him during his Epetedo declaration. Tinubu was later arrested, detained, and forced into exile, but continued to fund and support the pro-democracy movement,” he said.

He credited Tinubu with supporting NADECO, NALICON, and exiled journalists, and accused Lamido of making deals with the Abacha regime while Tinubu’s home was bombed by agents of the junta.

“It is disappointing that Lamido, despite admitting Tinubu’s role in NADECO, would now attempt to rewrite history. This is revisionism driven by envy,” Onanuga said.

He concluded by urging Lamido to “check his facts before going on television to spread falsehoods,” stating that President Tinubu’s democratic credentials are well-documented and unmatched by those who compromised during Nigeria’s most critical democratic test.