Atiku Abubakar, a former presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), revealed that his late political mentor Shehu Musa Yar’adua persuaded him to resign in favor of MKO Abiola, the widely regarded victor of the 1993 presidential election.
Atiku claimed that during the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primaries, Yar’Adua instructed him.
In an interview with Untold Stories’ Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, he disclosed this.
The former vice president further revealed that if Abiola chose him over Babagana Kingibe, governors running on the SDP platform threatened to stop supporting him.
He said: “I think there have been some misinterpretation or misrepresentation of what actually happened, even though I had in the past addressed the circumstances surrounding that incident.
“So I told him, ‘Look, if you don’t come to Jos, there is every likelihood that Kingibe is going to be elected, and I know you don’t want it. So you better come to Jos, no matter how late.’
“And he drove all the way from Kaduna to Jos. By the time he came to Jos, it was about three or four a.m. And he called for a meeting in Kwande’s house. I do not know what he discussed with the late MKO Abiola.
“I was not privy to the meeting, and he did not tell me. But when we got to the meeting in Ambassador Kwande’s house, all he told me was that, ‘Turaki.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He said, ‘Step down for MKO Abiola.’ I said, ‘Okay, sir. I have stepped down.”
The government of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, the previous military head of state, IBB, canceled the election in which MKO Abiola was declared the victor.
In February 2025, Babangida did, however, apologize for nullifying Abiola’s 1993 victory.
The IBB characterized the election as credible, fair, and free.
