The family of the late Chief Moshood Abiola has called on the Federal Government to provide a detailed breakdown of the reported N45 billion debt allegedly owed to them.
The call followed a recent statement by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who appealed to President Bola Tinubu to compensate the family as a gesture of national healing and justice.
Lamido had revived a dispute over money allegedly owed to the late Abiola, insisting the Federal Government pay the business mogul’s heirs about N45bn.
Speaking in Abuja at the May 2025 launch of his memoir, ‘Being True to Myself’, Lamido told guests that Abiola’s company, International Telephone & Telegraph, completed major communications contracts for the military government in the 1970s but was never fully paid.
He said a former head of state, Murtala Muhammed, acknowledged the debt before his 1976 assassination and that Abiola privately confirmed the figure when Lamido visited him shortly before his arrest in 1994.
Lamido framed the unpaid bill as “double punishment”, saying Abiola was first denied the presidency after his June 12, 1993 electoral victory was annulled, and then denied the contract money he was due.
Settling the claim, he argued, would give moral and symbolic closure to Nigeria’s long-running June 12 saga and demonstrate President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to justice for pro-democracy figures.
“Abiola kept faith with this country; paying what is owed will close the chapter decently,” Lamido told the audience, which included Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, whom he asked to relay the appeal to the President.
The revelation reignited public discourse around Nigeria’s democratic journey and the sacrifices of Abiola, who died in detention in 1998 after his struggle to reclaim his electoral mandate.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH, urged President Tinubu to act on the matter.
He said, “That money should be paid to Abiola’s family. It is not just about compensation, it is about honouring a man who gave everything for this democracy. Giving an appointment to one of his children is not enough.”
Adams also called for broader recognition of Abiola’s legacy.
Speaking for the family, Jamiu Abiola told Saturday PUNCH that the family needed details on the debt to be able to act on it.
He said, “The former governor did not say what the money was owed for. He didn’t give much details about it. Since then, the matter has been what it is. Before we can say more about it, we need more details. For now, the issue that the money be paid cannot come up because it hasn’t been substantiated.”
A senior official in the Presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the family could file claims if it had enough evidence.
He, however, stated that Lamido had “no business” speaking for the family.
“The children of MKO Abiola are still very much alive. The first son is alive. So, if there is any money the government is owing Abiola, let them file a claim. It is not for Sule Lamido to be saying this.
“Obasanjo was president for eight years. Why didn’t he pay it? President Buhari was there for eight years, why didn’t he pay? So, I don’t think it is Sule Lamido’s business at all.”
Meanwhile, a member of the family, Hafsat Abiola, on Friday, commended the Federal Government for the conferment of CFR on her mother, the late Kudirat Abiola.
She said, “There are no words to adequately express the depth of gratitude I feel at President Tinubu’s posthumous conferment of the merit of CFR on my mum, Kudirat Abiola.
“She was guided both by love and a sense of duty to defend her husband’s mandate, and to work with many across the country for the restoration of democracy. Yet, I have no doubt that she would have been overwhelmed with joy to be so honoured.”
