1993 Nigerian presidential election
[citation needed] The IBB government also established the Political Bureau, under the chairmanship of Professor Sam Cookey, to proffer advice on this transition.[9] However, in October 1989, IBB rejected these selected political parties submitted by the NEC for approval, accusing them of being ethnically and regionally polarized and riddled with factions.[3][1][5] The new nomination process supervised by the NEC involved a knockout contest from the local to the national level, using an open ballot system – Option A4.[5] The nomination process resulted in the emergence of Bashir Tofa, a businessman from the north, and MKO Abiola, a multimillionaire media mogul from the south – both Muslim – as presidential candidates for the NRC and SDP respectively.Abiola also went for regional balance, picking an ex-diplomat and former chairman of the party from the north-east, Baba Gana Kingibe as his running mate.The Babaginda government had commenced the SAP in 1986, and following prescriptions of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, he imposed austerity measures to ensure fiscal discipline by the state.[2][3] The chairman of the NEC, Humphrey Nwosu, dismissed the injunction citing the high court's lack of authority on election-related matters.[1] The NEC began announcing the first batch of election results on 14 June:[10] Abiola won 19 out of 30 states, and the Federal Capital Territory.[7] If Abiola had been declared the winner, he would have been at that time the first southerner to be elected as president of Nigeria, breaking through ethno-religious divides having received support from all regions of the country.[1][2] On 24 June, IBB announced the annulment of the election, citing the issue of vote buying, as well as the need to protect the country's judiciary.[2] Former military rulers Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as ten other former generals – as part of the Association for Democracy and Good Governance – issued a joint statement demanding the removal of Babangida from power.[1] In early August, Abiola flew to London and Washington to seek international support for his presidency – he subsequently returned in 24 September.The country was ruled by an Interim National Government headed by Ernest Shonekan, with Sani Abacha, a confidant of Babangida, serving as Defence Minister.[7] To revive the economy, Shonekan resumed talks with the IMF and World Bank and the took the unpopular decision to remove subsidies on petroleum products, thereby raising the price by 700%.[7] Abacha's new cabinet was composed of civilian politicians, including Abiola's running mate Baba Gana Kingibe as Foreign Minister.