Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, has rejected claims by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, that President Bola Tinubu supported the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
In an interview, Mr. Alake, who served as Editor of Sunday Concord, a newspaper owned by the late Chief MKO Abiola said President Tinubu was not only deeply involved in the pro-democracy movement but was also one of its “central architects.”
Mr. Alake dismissed Lamido’s comments as “false, revisionist, and a calculated attempt to distort democratic history.”
“I wrote MKO Abiola’s first public declaration to run for president in January 1993 and publicised it across all media. I was in the vortex of the June 12 saga,” Mr. Alake said.
The Minister recounted how President Tinubu played a crucial role during the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primaries in Jos, helping persuade fellow aspirant Atiku Abubakar to step down for Abiola.
“Tinubu was instrumental in those negotiations, hosted at Cante Bellow’s house with the late General Shehu Yar’Adua presiding,” he said.
Mr. Alake also countered Lamido’s claims about President Tinubu’s support for the annulment, stating that the former Lagos governor was among the organisers of the mass protests that followed the election’s cancellation.
“The protests of June and July 1993? Tinubu helped plan and execute them. Where was Lamido then?” he asked.
Mr. Alake recalled several instances of President Tinubu’s active involvement, including arranging flight clearance for Abiola to attend a condolence visit and escorting him to a key meeting with General Sani Abacha after the coup in November 1993.
“That famous photo of MKO, Tinubu, and Abacha? Tinubu was there to negotiate Abiola’s mandate. I was present when it was arranged the night before.”
The Minister went further to accuse Lamido, then SDP Secretary of betraying the pro-democracy movement by aligning with the military-backed interim government.
“Tinubu’s house was bombed, he was detained, and eventually forced into exile. These are not actions of someone who supported annulment,” Alake stated.
Alake described as “a lie from the pit of hell” Lamido’s additional claim that Tinubu’s mother supported the annulment.
Ending on a defiant note, the Minister challenged Lamido to a public debate.
“His comments are not just false—they are a deliberate attempt to rewrite history and hide his own complicity in the June 12 betrayal,” Alake declared.
The Minister concluded with a brief update on his ministry, announcing the Federal Government’s support for a $400 million rare earth and critical minerals project, Africa’s largest adding that the sector has attracted over $800 million in foreign investment due to recent reforms.