June 12: Atiku was part of decision for rotational presidency — FG

By Omeiza Ajayi

The Federal Government on Tuesday revealed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was among the political leaders who agreed to the adoption of rotational presidency in Nigeria following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, describing the agreement as a tough but necessary decision to preserve national unity.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Senator George Akume, made the disclosure while responding to questions during a World Press Conference held in Abuja as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 27th Democracy Day Anniversary.

Although he did not ask Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to withdraw from the 2027 race, Akume’s statement was seen as a veiled attempt to puncture the former vice president’s aspiration in the middle of a southern presidency.

Akume’s Media and Publicity Adviser, Yomi Odunuga, in a statement, said the SGF recalled that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP met in Kaduna under the leadership of the late Chief Solomon Lar and Alhaji Adamu Ciroma to deliberate on the way forward after the annulment, with power shift and the party’s presidential candidature featuring prominently on the agenda.

“It was a tough argument before the issue of rotational presidency was agreed on. At the end, we had to concede. We must do this. June 12 annulment had complicated the whole thing. It was finally agreed that we’ll be alternating between North and South. Atiku was one of the leaders at that meeting, which was convened by Chief Solomon Lar. He was part of that agreement,” Senator Akume stated.

He explained that the decision to alternate presidential power between the North and the South emerged from the need to address the political consequences of the June 12 annulment and to promote inclusiveness and national cohesion.

Reflecting on the significance of June 12, the SGF described the annulment of the election — widely regarded as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history and won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola — as a painful setback to the democratic aspirations of Nigerians.

“Abiola won that election round and square. That election was annulled by the military government. It was very painful because the people spoke and they spoke freely. They made their own choice,” he said.

Akume said one of the most enduring lessons from the June 12 experience is the supremacy of the people’s will in a democratic society. “The first lesson is that the voice of the people must always be supreme; it must be sacrosanct. That’s the beauty of democracy. We prefer the ballot to bullets,” he said.

The SGF expressed confidence in Nigeria’s democratic institutions, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, saying the country had learnt valuable lessons from 1993 and would never allow a repeat of such an annulment.

“If an election is conducted very fairly, and one wins, no problem. The actors at the Independent National Electoral Commission are not young people; they were adults when this thing happened. Fortunately for us, those at INEC are men of honour and integrity; they are well-read, patriotic Nigerians, and they’re determined to also make a difference. Never again would such happen in this country,” he said.

Drawing on the American example to make his point, Akume said, “You win, you win. When you lose, go back and prepare for another election. Look at the American example. President Trump lost to Joe Biden. He didn’t bring America down. He went back prepared and came back and won. That’s the beauty of democracy.”

“It is under a democratic system that you can insult your president and insult anybody and still go to bed, and you don’t receive a midnight knock on your door. Try it under a totalitarian regime,” Akume added.

He urged political actors to embrace democratic principles, respect electoral outcomes, and continue to strengthen the nation’s democratic culture, noting that Nigeria’s 27 years of uninterrupted democratic rule underscored the country’s commitment to freedom of expression, the rule of law and peaceful political participation.

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