Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has refuted the claim made by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that former military President Ibrahim Babangida tormented Tinubu during the military era. Osinbajo made the comment last week while discussing Babangida’s autobiography, A Journey in Service, at its public presentation in Abuja. He recalled how, in the aftermath of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election, Tinubu, then a senator, resisted the military’s dissolution of the Senate. In a lighthearted remark, Osinbajo suggested that Tinubu had been tormented by the military, including Babangida, but was now present to celebrate one of his former adversaries.

However, Onanuga, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, disagreed with Osinbajo’s assertion. He clarified that Babangida was not a tormentor of Tinubu, stating that Tinubu had, in fact, acknowledged Babangida as an influential figure in his political career. Onanuga explained that Babangida’s call for a new generation of politicians in the late 1980s and early 1990s inspired many professionals, including Tinubu, to enter politics.

Onanuga also pointed out that Tinubu’s real struggles with the military began during General Sani Abacha’s regime when Tinubu, alongside other lawmakers, attempted to reconvene the Senate in Lagos. The presidential aide further commended Babangida for recently admitting that MKO Abiola won the 1993 presidential election, although he felt the acknowledgment came too late.