Update: Inside Nigeria Political Story Archive
27th of October, 2026
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The year was 1993. Nigeria was preparing for another attempt at returning to civilian democratic rule, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was about to choose its presidential candidate.
Among the leading political figures in the contest were Chief MKO Abiola, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
But behind the candidates were powerful political organisations, alliances and interests.
One of the most influential was the political machine of the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.
Yar’Adua had previously been a leading presidential aspirant before the Babangida administration disqualified him. Although he could no longer contest, his political influence remained formidable.
His preferred candidate was Atiku Abubakar, his political protΓ©gΓ©.
The Yar’Adua group had a problem, however. Babagana Kingibe, who enjoyed the support of several SDP governors, was also in the race.
The Jos convention was therefore going to be more than a contest between three presidential aspirants. It was a battle between competing political establishments.
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According to an account attributed to Yar’Adua himself, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu brokered an understanding between the Abiola and Yar’Adua camps.
The reported arrangement was that their supporters would work together in the first ballot to prevent Kingibe from emerging as the leading candidate.
But something allegedly went wrong.
In January 1995, Yar’Adua reportedly told a journalist who visited him that Abiola’s camp had tactfully withheld some votes that were supposed to go to Atiku.
The result?
Abiola finished first with 3,617 votes.
Kingibe came second with 3,225 votes.
Atiku came third with 2,066 votes.
The result was a political upset for the Yar’Adua camp, whose candidate had been expected to perform much better.
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With Atiku in third position, a runoff became necessary between Abiola and Kingibe.
According to the account of Yar’Adua’s conversation with the journalist, the general was furious about what he considered a double-cross.
Nevertheless, he reportedly agreed to support Abiola in the runoff, partly because of his deep opposition to Kingibe and because of an understanding that Abiola would choose Atiku as his running mate.
Atiku subsequently withdrew from the contest and urged his supporters to back Abiola.
Abiola defeated Kingibe in the runoff, scoring 2,683 votes against Kingibe’s 2,456.
He had secured the SDP presidential ticket.
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This was where another political controversy emerged.
The Yar’Adua camp expected Abiola to honour the reported understanding and choose Atiku as his running mate.
But Abiola eventually selected Babagana Kingibe!
The result was the famous Abiola-Kingibe Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket that contested the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Atiku later wrote in his autobiography that Yar’Adua’s group was angry because Abiola had reneged on their agreement.
Yar’Adua, according to the account published by TheCable, also felt betrayed.
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There are competing accounts of what happened at Jos.
Atiku’s own recollection was that his group honoured its agreement with Abiola, withdrew from the contest and supported him in the runoff, only for Abiola to disappoint them over the running-mate arrangement.
Other accounts suggest that Abiola’s camp had already manoeuvred to weaken Atiku’s position during the first ballot.
The accounts deserve examination rather than unquestioning acceptance.
One thing is clear: Abiola’s emergence as the SDP presidential candidate was not simply a straightforward victory. It involved negotiations, political calculations, competing interests and agreements whose interpretation would remain controversial.
And the choice of Kingibe instead of Atiku created another chapter in the political history of June 12.
History is sometimes more complicated than the stories we have been told.
What do you think: Was Abiola a master political strategist who outmanoeuvred the Yar’Adua group, or did he simply make a political choice that his former allies considered a betrayal?
#theamazingabacha
#NigerianHistory #NationBuilding #June12 ##MKOAbiola #nigeriansinpeckharm
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