June 12: Afenifere replies Babangida

The pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has described the reason given by ex-military president, Ibrahim Babangida for annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election as an insult to Nigerians.

Babangida, who appeared on the Arise TV on Friday, said he annulled the June 12, considered as the fairest election in Nigeria, to prevent a violent coup in the country.

He insisted that the election could have caused more instability in the country.

“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.”

But in a statement issued by its Secretary-General, Sola Ebiseni, Afenifere, described Babangida’s comment on the election as a “sour taste in the month.”

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Ebiseni added that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has performed woefully on security, economy, and anti-corruption.

The statement read: “Babangida has not said a new thing worthy of any reaction in respect of his treasonable acts of the annulment of the adjudged freest and fairest election in the country’s political history.

“Nigerians are not interested in any excuse being given by IBB. It is even most preposterous that IBB will only now be insulting the intelligence of Nigerians that he annulled their mandate to forestall a violent coup, which, by reasonable inference, he was aware of.

“He lost the opportunity of being the hero of democracy and father of a new Nigeria, an eternal regret that no whitewashing on television can redeem.

“However, it is no gainsaying the fact that the present administration has made saints of all previous administrations in every aspect of governance.”