On Thursday, former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo commented on President Bola Tinubu’s current political position, humorously noting that Tinubu seems to be celebrating with those he previously considered adversaries.
Gatekeepers News reports that Osinbajo made these remarks during the public presentation of former military president Ibrahim Babangida’s autobiography, titled “A Journey in Service,” held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
In his review of the book, Osinbajo highlighted Tinubu’s actions as a senator when he opposed the dissolution of the Senate under the regime of Sani Abacha, a response to the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
“And then, of course, there’s a gentleman here who was an elected senator in 1992 because of Babangida’s transition programme,” the former vice president said.
“When Babangida annulled the 1993 election and General Abacha took over, dissolved the senate, that senator tried to reconstitute the senate in resistance to the dissolution.
“He was detained, charged to court, and later escaped into exile. Today, he is here, celebrating with his former tormentors—but as the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu.”
Tinubu’s political career began in 1991 when he joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and campaigned for MKO Abiola, the party’s presidential candidate. Elected to the Senate in 1992, he chaired the committee on banking, finance, appropriation, and currency.
After the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, he became a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), advocating for the restoration of democracy. During this time, he was arrested by the military regime and fled into exile in 1994.
Following Abacha’s death in 1998, Tinubu returned to Nigeria and was elected governor of Lagos State under the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
