A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has declared that former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) owes Nigerians no apology for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
George, a former military governor of Ondo State and an ex-Nigerian Army officer, made this assertion on Tuesday during an exclusive interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM.
His comments came in reaction to Babangida’s recent autobiography, A Journey in Service, where the former leader acknowledged that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, won the election but claimed the annulment was necessary to avert unforeseen crises.
While many Nigerians have criticized Babangida for failing to offer a direct apology—particularly to the families of those who lost their lives or suffered losses due to the post-annulment crisis—George insists that such an apology is unnecessary.
“The way I see it, I believe that ‘Oga’ must have been churning this thing over and over in his mindset. For him to decide to put pen to paper and write what he knew about it, it takes a lot of courage and wisdom,” George stated.
According to him, Babangida could have chosen to remain silent and take the truth to his grave, but instead, he decided to set the record straight for the sake of history.
“Now, all those rancor and calls for his prosecution will not be helpful for the future generation of the country to learn our national history,” he added.
George further challenged those who still feel Babangida’s version of events is flawed to publish their own accounts instead of demanding an apology.
“What other apologies do you want if someone wrote and said it was a mistake? He won the election; what other apologies are you looking for? If he had said he (MKO Abiola) didn’t win, what would you have done? Let’s be honest with ourselves. He wasn’t rewriting history; he was only correcting it.”
He urged Nigerians to move beyond dwelling on the past and focus on national development rather than waiting for an apology that would not change the country’s trajectory.
George also attributed Nigeria’s stagnation to religious and ethnic divisions, as well as the classification of groups into major and minor ethnicities, urging a shift in national priorities.
During a review of A Journey in Service on February 20, 2025, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo read an excerpt in which Babangida admitted that, upon deeper reflection, he now fully concedes that Abiola was the rightful winner of the June 12 election.
“I had previously questioned Abiola’s electoral victory, but upon deeper reflection, I now concede that he was indeed the rightful winner of the election,” Babangida was quoted as saying.
He also expressed his satisfaction that the Buhari administration eventually recognized Abiola as a former head of state of Nigeria.
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