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Nigeria: Military Cabal Forced IBB to Annul June 12 Polls - Lar
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Leadership (Abuja)
16 June 2008
Posted to the web 16 June 2008
A political associate of late Chief MKO Abiola and former national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomon Lar, yesterday said some military officers forced former President Ibrahim Babangida to annul the June 12,1993 presidential election.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos, Lar said, left to the former President, Chief Abiola would have been declared winner.
Lar disclosed that what the Chairman of the defunct National Election Commission (NEC), Professor Humphrey Nwosu, published in his book, Laying the Foundation for Nigeria's Democracy, was true.
"What he said is correct, but not a new thing and it is no news. We knew that Chief Abiola won the freest and fairest election in 1993.
"There is no doubt about that and that it was some military men who brought pressure on President Babangida to annul the election," he added.
According to him, Nwosu quoted them correctly, leaving out two or three other names "which I do not want to disclose."
"I was privileged to have an insight of this because we fought for the enthronement of democracy in this country," he said.
Lar, the pioneer chairman of PDP, said a friend of his, now resident in the U.S., told him everything about the annulment of the election.
"He told me everything about it. In fact, he told me that left to IBB, the results would have been announced.
"They (military officers) threatened him that if he announced the results there would be another coup, so he kept quiet," he added.
He disclosed that the annulment of the presidential election results then brought a temporary setback for democracy in the country.
According to him, Nigerians wanted democracy, hence their resolve to participate in the freest and fairest election ever to be conducted.
He said that was why since 1994, there was a yearly celebration of June 12.
"It showed that June 12 was no respecter of religion, tribe or ethnic group. Nigerians voted for democracy.
"I will advocate for the yearly celebration of June 12 and May 16, when the National Assembly threw out the third term Bill," he added.
Commenting on President Umaru Yar'Adua's performance in the last one year, he commended Yar'Adua for sustaining democracy through the rule of law and due process.
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"One year is too short a time to assess one's performance. Give him some time. So long as there is democracy, it is a plus," he said.
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