𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐯 – 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐰𝐚

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), says he once resisted pressure from the military hierarchy to manipulate the 1999 Lagos governorship election against Bola Tinubu, insisting on a free and fair process.

Marwa revealed this in Abuja during the public presentation of Buni Boy, a book written by the late legal scholar, Niyi Ayoola-Daniels. He noted that while then Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar did not interfere, some top military figures were worried about Tinubu’s rising popularity and pro-democracy activism.

He explained that despite receiving instructions to block Tinubu’s emergence, he declined to alter the poll because Lagos residents had shown him strong support throughout his tenure as Military Administrator.

Marwa said the Yoruba community’s trust in his administration strengthened his resolve to conduct a credible election, which eventually produced Tinubu as governor at the dawn of the Fourth Republic.

Reflecting on the book, he praised the values it highlights—justice, unity, and national cohesion—adding that the story mirrors the resilience of the Nigerian spirit. He also commended the author’s widow, Mrs Leticia Ayoola-Daniels, for sustaining her husband’s legacy through the Buni Yadi Foundation.