Former military head of state, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has admitted that the late Chief Moshood Abiola won the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
The revelation is detailed in Babangida’s autobiography, A Journey in Service, launched in Abuja on Thursday February 20.
Through the book’s reviewer, former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Babangida maintained that Abiola, who ran on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), secured both the majority vote and the required geographical spread to become president.
He described the annulment of the election as the most difficult decision of his life.
“There was no doubt in my mind; MKO Abiola won the election. He satisfied all the requirements,” Babangida admitted.
Babangida expressed relief that President Muhammadu Buhari later acknowledged Abiola’s victory by posthumously awarding him the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), Nigeria’s highest honor reserved for president.
