Akume: Atiku Backed Rotational Presidency in 1993

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has said the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, was among the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who met in Kaduna State and opted to adopt rotational presidency in Nigeria following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

He disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during the World Press Conference as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 27th Democracy Day Anniversary.

He said far-reaching political decisions that would preserve national unity and strengthen democratic foundation was mooted following the annulment of the June 12 election, won by Chief Moshood Abiola.

According to him, the PDP stalwarts, led by the late Chief Solomon Lar and Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, had on their agenda power shift and the party’s presidential candidature.

Akume said: “It was a tough argument before the issue of rotational presidency was agreed to. At the end, we had to concede. We must do this. June 12 annulment had complicated the whole thing. It was finally agreed that we’ll be alternating between North and South.

“Atiku was one of the leaders at that meeting, which was convened by Chief Solomon Lar. He was part of that agreement.”

He identified the need to promote inclusiveness and national cohesion and to address the political consequences of the June 12 annulment that necessitated the decision to alternate presidential power between the North and the South.

He described the annulment of June 12 election, the freest in the history of the country, while reflecting on the significance of the event, as a painful setback to the democratic aspirations of Nigerians.

He said one of the most enduring lessons from the June 12 experience was the supremacy of the people’s will in a democratic society, stressing that the key lesson was that the voice of the people must always be supreme.

The SGF expressed confidence in the country’s democratic institutions, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying the country has learnt valuable lessons from the events of 1993 and would never allow a repeat of another annulment.