Abiola and Tofa contest the presidential election

On June 12, 1993, Nigerians went to the polls to elect a civilian president after years of military rule under Ibrahim Babangida. The two candidates were Moshood Abiola, a wealthy Yoruba businessman from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Bashir Tofa, a northern businessman and Islamic scholar from the National Republican Convention (NRC). The election was conducted using a unique Option A4 system where voters queued behind their preferred candidate's symbol. Early results showed Abiola leading decisively across multiple regions, including significant support in northern states.

This election represented the culmination of Babangida's prolonged transition program that had begun in 1987. The military government had previously annulled earlier primaries and banned prominent politicians like Shehu Shagari and Obafemi Awolowo from participating. Babangida created the two political parties himself, designing them to cut across ethnic and regional lines rather than allowing organic party formation. The SDP was positioned as slightly left-of-center while the NRC was more conservative, but both were required to have national appeal and avoid the regional politics that had plagued the Second Republic.