N45 BILLION DEBT: MKO Abiola doubly cheated by Nigeria’s military junta – Sule Lamido
Former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, has said that the June 12, 1993 presidential election, won by the late MKO Abiola, was annulled by the military government to avoid paying Abiola a significant contract debt.
Lamido made these assertions during the public presentation of his autobiography, ‘Being True to Myself’, in Abuja on Tuesday.
He argued that Abiola was “doubly punished” by being denied both the presidency and the money owed to him.
Lamido asserted that the military government owed Abiola approximately N45 billion for contracts executed by International Telephone and Telecommunication for the Ministry of Communications during the time of the late Gen. Murtala Mohammed.
He claimed that after Gen. Mohammed’s death, the military high command refused to pay this debt.
Lamido stated that when Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the military decided to annul it out of fear that if Abiola was sworn in as President, he would recover the N45 billion debt.
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According to Lamido, the military believed that Abiola recovering this amount could potentially bankrupt the country at that time.
He mentioned that those close to Sani Abacha, who was a prominent figure in the military at the time, should be aware of this reason.
Lamido also stated that General Ibrahim Babangida, the then-military president who annulled the election, acknowledged in his book that Abiola won the election and confirmed that Abiola was owed N45 billion when Lamido visited him.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to pay the alleged N45 billion debt to Abiola’s family to bring closure to the June 12 saga.
Also speaking at the event, former President Olusegun Obasanjo emphasised that the work they started for Nigeria was not yet finished.
He called on Lamido and others not to retire, stating that it remained their responsibility to ensure Nigeria reaches its full potential.
“You (Lamido) are now a statesman. But Nigeria that we are working for, we haven’t got there. Our job is not finished until we are finished,” Obasanjo said.
