Elder statesmen Ambassador Babagana Kingibe and Tom Ikimi will be leading other dignitaries to the public presentation of a book, Nigeria’s Aborted 3rd Republic and the June 12 Debacle: Reporters’ Account, on September 20 at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja by 11 am.
The book was put together by journalists who covered the political transition programme of the Ibrahim Babangida administration and the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election.
It renders a firsthand account of the issues in the implementation of the programme which culminated in the fiasco of the June 12 annulment by the journalists who reported the events of that era under the aegis of the National Association of Political Correspondents (NAPOC).
The event will be chaired by the director-general of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Segun Runsewe.
According to a press release on Friday by Emeka Nwosu on behalf of NAPOC 90s, the book “offers a deep historical insight into the character and content of the transition process and the web of conspiracies that were deployed by key political actors in the military and their civilian collaborators to scuttle the June 12 election.
“The book reveals so many issues that have never been in the public domain, including the intrigues surrounding the emergence of MKO Abiola and Bashir Tofa as the presidential candidates of the defunct SDP and NRC respectively.
“The 242-page book provides a gripping account of many of the behind-the-scenes manoeuvres by President Babangida and his henchmen that set the stage for the infamous annulment. The narratives are compelling and unputdownable.
“Also expected on the occasion are other political actors of that era and serving Governors and Members of the National Assembly, including the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu who is the Chief Guest of Honour.”
