ABUJA, Nigeria — Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State, has called on President Bola Tinubu to settle an alleged N45 billion debt owed by the federal government to the family of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Mr. Lamido made the appeal on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Abuja during the public presentation of his memoir, Being True To Myself.
Addressing the audience, which included senior government officials, the former governor urged the president to use the opportunity of his administration to bring closure to the unresolved issues surrounding the June 12 election.
“Before concluding, I appeal to President Bola Tinubu to finally close the June 12 chapter,” Mr. Lamido said.
“In his book, Ibrahim Babangida acknowledged Abiola’s victory in that election. When I visited him, he also confirmed Abiola is owed N45 billion. He was doubly punished, denied both the presidency and his due.”
Mr. Lamido directed his appeal to Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, who represented the president at the event, asking him to convey the message to the presidency.
“Please tell the president to pay Abiola’s family the N45 billion. That will finally close the June 12 chapter,” he said.
According to Mr. Lamido, the sum is related to debts claimed by Abiola for contracts executed through the Ministry of Communication.
He previously stated in a 2018 interview that Abiola made the demand following the death of former Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, but that the military regime at the time refused the request.
Chief MKO Abiola, widely believed to have won the annulled 1993 presidential election, was never officially recognised until 2018, when the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari posthumously awarded him the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR)—the country’s highest national honour—and declared June 12 as Democracy Day.
Ibrahim Babangida, the military president who annulled the election, served from 1985 to 1993.
In his memoir published in February 2025, Mr. Babangida acknowledged for the first time that Abiola won the election.
Abiola died in custody on 7 July 1998 after being detained for declaring himself president.
His death remains one of the most significant moments in Nigeria’s democratic journey, and the issues surrounding his annulled mandate continue to reverberate in national discourse.
