Lekan Abiola, a son of the late Chief Moshood Abiola—the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election—has revealed that former military president General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) (retd.) has apologised to the family for invalidating the historic polls.
Lekan revealed this on Thursday, during the MKO Abiola Memorial Symposium and preparations for the launch of a forthcoming book titled “MKO Abiola: Symbol of Democracy”, held in Lagos State.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the event, Lekan stated that the family felt a sense of relief following Babangida’s public acknowledgement and apology.
“We returned from the United States of America; we have met IBB, and he has apologised privately to us. When he came out publicly to say that he was sorry for annulling the election and that MKO won the election, he did what he had done privately in public. Every year, he always sends someone to come and represent him here on the June 12 occasion.”
He also stressed the symbolic significance of the public apology, describing it as long overdue.
“Before now, for the private apology, there was nothing we could do about that. It is as though someone punched you in public and said sorry in private.”
He further revealed that Babangida’s public admission helped to clarify the legitimacy of MKO Abiola’s electoral victory, putting to rest longstanding doubts and controversy.
“For him to come out publicly to admit that MKO did win the election makes us feel at ease publicly. This is because some people are always saying, ‘Are we even sure he won the election?’ But now, he (IBB) has released the full results. Officially, it is now known that MKO won the election, and that is no longer a controversy.”
