Breakdown of June 12 Election Results as released by Babangida

After nearly 32 years of silence, former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) opened up the role he played in annulling the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election.

The June 12, 1993 election, adjudged as freest and fairest in the history of the country was between Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) declared the results in only 14 states before the regime of IBB annulled the exercise.

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The annulment threw the entire nation into one of the worst political crises, causing untold hardships, across the nation and claiming the lives of the major political actors, at that time.

However, on Thursday, IBB finally admitted that Moshood Abiola won the Presidential Election while launching his autobiography, ‘A Journey in Service in Abuja.

The former military ruler noted that while the annulment of the election remained a defining moment in his career, he took solace in the fact that former President Muhammadu Buhari posthumously honoured Abiola with the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic title, a recognition reserved for Nigerian presidents.

The book, which offers insights into key moments in the country’s history, also addresses other national controversies, including the 1976 coup attempt that led to the assassination of then-Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, and the 1986 letter bomb that killed investigative journalist, Dele Giwa.

Reflecting on his decision to annul the June 12 election, widely regarded as the most credible in the country’s history, Babangida admitted that if given another chance, he would have handled the situation differently.

He said, “Undoubtedly credible, free and fair elections were held in June, on June 12, 1993.

“However, the tragic irony of history remains that the administration that devised a near-perfect electoral system and conducted those near-perfect elections could not complete the process.

“That accident of history is most regrettable. The nation is entitled to expect my impression of regret.

“As a leader of the military administration, I accept full responsibility for all decisions taken under my watch.”

He added, “And June 12 happened under my watch, mistakes, oversights and missteps happened in quick succession, but I say in my book, in all matters, we acted in the supreme national interest so that Nigeria could survive”

Meanwhile, Babangida who dedicated a chapter of the book to discuss the June 12 saga, included a detailed result of the election.

According to the result published by Babangida, Tofa got a total of 5,952,087 (41.88%) of votes nationwide while Abiola, scored 8,259,209 (58.12%). The total votes cast was 14,211,296.

Below is the full results of the June 12 election released by Babangida: