IBB Admits MKO Abiola Won June 12, 1993 Election

Former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, has acknowledged that MKO Abiola won the presidential election held on June 12, 1993. This revelation came at the launch of his autobiography, ‘A Journey In Service’, in Abuja on Thursday.

Babangida expressed regret over the annulment, describing it as an “accident of history” that is “most regrettable”. He accepted full responsibility for the decision, saying “oversights and mistakes happened in quick succession”.

“As the leader of the military administration, I accept full responsibility for all decisions taken under my watch, and June 12th happened under my watch. Mistakes, oversights and missteps happened in quick succession. But I say in my book, in all matters we acted in the supreme national interest so that Nigeria could survive. Our nation’s march to democracy was interrupted, a fact that I deeply regret, but Nigeria survived and democracy is still alive,” says Ibrahim Babangida.

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Meanwhile, AbdulMumuni Abiola, son of the late Moshood Abiola, has welcomed former Military President Ibrahim Babangida’s admission that his father won the June 12, 1993, presidential election. AbdulMumuni Abiola believes Babangida’s acknowledgement brings closure to the issue.

“The part that I took to heart was his acknowledgement that he felt remorse for that action, because I think that was a tragic moment for not just the Abiola family, but for Nigeria as a whole. And for him to acknowledge that he felt he had remorse for the actions he took, and he even went further to say that if he was given an opportunity, he would take a different path. And I think it’s human to err, and if you know anything about this event, it’s 32 years after. It’s human to err, and for me, I think the closure part is, it lays that matter to rest,” says AbdulMumuni Abiola.