In a historic revelation, former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has openly acknowledged that the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola won the June 12, 1993, presidential election. This admission is documented in his newly launched autobiography, A Journey in Service, which was unveiled in Abuja on Thursday.
Through the book reviewer, former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Babangida confirmed that Abiola, who contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), not only secured the majority of votes but also met the necessary geographical spread required to be declared president.
“There was no doubt in my mind; MKO Abiola won the election. He satisfied all the requirements,” Babangida stated in the book.
The former head of state described the annulment of the June 12 election as the most difficult decision of his life, hinting at the immense pressures and complexities surrounding that controversial period. However, he expressed some relief that President Muhammadu Buhari, decades later, officially recognized Abiola’s victory by posthumously awarding him the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), a title reserved for Nigerian presidents.
Babangida’s admission adds a new dimension to Nigeria’s political history, reinforcing what many have long believed—that the June 12 election, widely regarded as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history, was unjustly annulled.
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