Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa, has asked President Bola Tinubu to pay the N45 billion allegedly owed by the federal government to the family of the late MKO Abiola.
Lamido made this appeal in Abuja on Tuesday during the launch of his memoir titled ‘Being True To Myself’.
“Before concluding, I appeal to President Bola Tinubu to finally close the June 12 chapter. In his book, Ibrahim Babangida acknowledged Abiola’s victory in that election,” he said.
“When I visited him, he also confirmed Abiola is owed N45 billion. He was doubly punished, denied both the presidency and his due.”
The former governor asked Mohammed Idris, who serves as minister of information and national orientation and represented Tinubu at the event, to deliver this message to the president.
“Please tell the president to pay Abiola’s family the N45 billion. That will finally close the June 12 chapter,” Lamido said.
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In a 2018 interview, Lamido said Abiola submitted the debt claim after Murtala Muhammed, former head of state, died, but military leaders rejected his request.
He explained that the debt came from contracts Abiola completed for the communication ministry.
Abiola won the 12 June 1993 presidential election, which Ibrahim Babangida, then military president, later cancelled.
Babangida ruled Nigeria as head of state from 1985 to 1993.
In his February memoir, Babangida admitted that Abiola won the presidential election.
Abiola died on 7 July 1998 while military authorities held him in detention after he declared himself the rightful winner of the June election.
In 2018, the Nigerian government recognised the late Abiola as the true winner of the 12 June 1993 election and awarded him the posthumous title of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
