One of the sons of the late Moshood Abiola, the declared victor of the cancelled June 12, 1993, presidential election, Lekan Abiola, disclosed that General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), the former military president, had expressed regret to the family for calling off the historic elections.
Lekan revealed this on Thursday during the MKO Abiola Memorial Symposium and the book launch preparations for “MKO Abiola: Symbol of Democracy,” which were held in Lagos.
Speaking to reporters outside the occasion, Lekan said the family was relieved that Babangida had publicly acknowledged and apologised.
“We returned from the United States of America, we have met IBB and he has apologised privately to us. When he came out publicly to say that he was sorry for annulling the election and that MKO won the election, he did what he had done privately in public. Every year, he always sends someone to come and represent him here on the June 12 occasion.”
He also emphasised the symbolic significance of the public apology, describing it as long overdue.
“Before now, for the private apology, there was nothing we could do about that. It is as though someone punched you in public and said sorry in private.”
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He added that Babangida’s public admission helped to clarify the legitimacy of MKO Abiola’s electoral victory, putting to rest longstanding doubts and controversy.
“For him to come out publicly to admit that MKO did win the election, makes us feel at ease publicly. This is because some people are always saying: ‘Are we even sure he won the election?’ But now, he (Babangida) has released the full results. Officially, it is now known that MKO won the election, and that is no longer a controversy.”
