18/07/2024
In a bid to return Nigeria on the path to democracy, the Abacha military junta allowed for the formation of 5 political parties in 1996 to replace the previously existing 2 parties (SDP and NRC) that participated in the June 12, 1993 presidential election that was conducted by the Ibrahim Babangida regime, which the Abacha junta had disbanded after taking over power from the interim national government of Ernest Shonekan in 1993.
Those Abacha 5 parties,
1. United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP)
2. Congress for National Concensus (CNC)
3. Grassroot Democracy Movement (GDM)
4. Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN)
5. National Center Party of Nigeria (NCPN)
would later adopt Abacha as a consensus candidate in April 1998, with only some of CNC politicians (Alhaji MD Yusuf and Tunji Braithwaite) putting up some resistance and going to court on that matter, but the Appeal court rejected the suit by claiming it lacked jurisdiction over the case.
The aim of the Abacha transition programme was to hand over power to a democratic government on 1st October 1998.
National Assembly elections already held on 25th April 1998, while gubernatorial and presidential elections were scheduled for 1st August 1998.
Abacha died on 8th June 1998.
