Lekan Abiola, son of the late Moshood Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election, has revealed that former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), apologised to the family for invalidating the historic polls.
According to Lekan Abiola, Babangida’s apology, both private and public, has brought a sense of relief to the family. “He has apologised privately to us, and 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,” Lekan Abiola stated.
The Abiola family member emphasised the significance of Babangida’s public admission, 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,” he added.
Lekan Abiola further noted that Babangida’s public apology has 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… Officially, it is now known that MKO won the election, and that is no longer a controversy.”
