BABANGIDA REVEALS WHY HE ANNULLED 1993 GENERAL ELECTION
….says pressure was much
Former Nigerian Military leader and Head of State, IBRAHIM BABANGIDA has said that he annulled the June 12, 1993 general election, widely believed to have been won by MOSHOOD KASHIMAWO OLAWALE ABIOLA popularly called MKO ABIOLA of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), because there pressures from stakeholders from the civil populace and the military top brass as well as the possibility of deadly coup d’etat in the Nigeria.
Responding to a question on a television programme monitored by BraveViews on Friday, BABANGIDA rhetorically asked; “Do you want me to be honest with you? If it materialized (If the election had gone through), there would have been a coup d’etat which, could have been violent. That is all I can confirm.
“It didn’t happen, thank God for the Maradonic way we handled you guys in the society;” adding that the election “could have given room for more instability in the country.”
BABANGIDA said: “Both the Military and the civilians pressured me to annul the election. They could do it because they have the weapons to do it. The other is the social agitation”.
Recall that the annulment led to protests and political unrest across Nigeria, including the resignation of BABANGIDA, giving way for an interim civilian government.
It culminated in into military rule with Late General SANI ABACHA ascending power through a bloodless coup later in the year.