The Presidency has rejected comments made by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, accusing him of distorting history over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s role in the June 12 pro-democracy struggle.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement described Lamido’s remarks as “revisionist, false, and historically dishonest.”
Lamido had alleged that Tinubu only joined the struggle after the formation of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), and claimed that his mother, the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, supported the annulment of the 1993 presidential election.
Rejecting the claims, the Presidency maintained that Tinubu was actively involved in the pro-democracy fight from the outset. It recalled that as a senator in 1993, Tinubu condemned the annulment of the June 12 election on the Senate floor and warned against military excesses.
The statement said: “Lamido’s claims represent a distortion of history and a regrettable attempt at revisionism. Tinubu never deserted the struggle. Instead, he faced arrest, detention, and exile while supporting NADECO and funding resistance efforts.”
It also defended Alhaja Mogaji, noting that she opposed the annulment and had personally appealed to then-military president Ibrahim Babangida to reverse the decision.
The Presidency accused Lamido, who was then National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), of failing to defend the party’s mandate, alleging he and then-chairman Tony Anenih surrendered Abiola’s victory without resistance.
“Tinubu sustained the struggle financially and politically. His house was bombed by the military regime, and he lived in exile for nearly five years while coordinating international support for the cause,” the statement added.
Describing Lamido’s remarks as part of a “Coalition of the Disgruntled,” the Presidency said his narrative reflected either envy or confusion about the nature and origins of NADECO.
“Revisionism does not serve the truth or the national interest,” it concluded.
