Former Military President General Ibrahim Babangida has stated why he annulled the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Gatekeepers News reports that Babangida said the annulment was in the overall interest of Nigeria.
The poll, considered as Nigeria’s fairest election, was keenly contested between the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Moshood Abiola, popularly known as MKO Abiola, and Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC).
While MKO Abiola took the lead to become the country’s next president, the election was annulled by Babangida who cited irregularities at the time.
Defending his decision, the ex-military president in an interview on Channels Television’s Newsnight said there was a need to prevent a coup in the country.
He said, “It is a decision we took. I had to take that decision, I did that to the best of my knowledge, in the interest of the country.
“I did the right thing. I can sit back and say some of the things I said manifested after I had left. We had the coup and that coup lasted for five years.”
While noting that he drew up a plan for national elections to hold in five to six months, Babangida explained that his intention was for the poll to hold in November 1993 after the Interim Government headed by Ernest Shonekan.
He stated that the agreement reached by politicians and groups was for the same set of contestants to recontest in the scheduled polls.
He said the citizens complained that they were tired of elections, thus paving the way for Sani Abacha who ruled the nation for five years.
