Former Vice President and ex-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has disclosed that his late political mentor, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, instructed him to step down for MKO Abiola during the 1993 Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential primaries.
In an interview with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie on Untold Stories, Atiku recounted the pivotal moment when Yar’Adua urged him to withdraw from the race in favor of Abiola, who later emerged as the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 election.
Atiku explained that he had advised Abiola to travel to Jos, where the SDP primaries were held, warning that without his presence, Babagana Kingibe stood a strong chance of clinching the party’s ticket. Abiola, he said, drove from Kaduna to Jos, arriving at around 3 or 4 a.m., and held a private meeting at the residence of Ambassador Yahaya Kwande.
Recounting the moment, Atiku said:
“I do not know what was discussed in the meeting, but when we later gathered at Kwande’s house, Yar’Adua turned to me and said, ‘Turaki.’ I responded, ‘Yes, sir.’ He then instructed, ‘Step down for MKO Abiola.’ I immediately replied, ‘Okay, sir. I have stepped down.’”
Despite Abiola’s landslide victory in the June 12, 1993 election, the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) annulled the results, plunging Nigeria into a political crisis.
In a rare admission, Babangida, in February 2025, expressed regret over the annulment, acknowledging that the election was free, fair, and credible.
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