The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has urged President Bola Tinubu to complete June 12 healing process by ensuring pasting of Chief MKO Abiola’s portrait in Aso Rock.
“President Tinubu should also accord his family all benefits/entitlements accruing to former Presidents,” the Chairman of CLO in Anambra, Mr Vincent Ezekwueme, said in Enugu while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Ezekwueme spoke on Monday on the sidelines of the 30th commemoration of the annulled June 12 Presidential Election presumed to have been won by Chief MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
NAN recalls that former President Muhammadu Buhari on June 6, 2018, declared June 12 as Nigeria’s democracy day instead of May 29 in honour of late Chief M.K.O Abiola.
Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election died in detention for an alleged treason.
The declaration followed many years of agitations by civil society groups that Abiola must be immortalized.
According to Buhari, the change was to remind all Nigerians of one free election after which the presumed winner along with Nigerians were denied their rights and their choices.
Ezekwueme noted that the implementation of lessons, letters and spirit of June 12th 1993 Presidential Election remained the only desideratum and panacea to challenges bedeviling the country.
He said it was an irrefutable truth that Nigerians voted above self, tribe, religion, ethnicity, and clan’s cleavages by voting for Abiola/Kingibe candidacy in spite of Muslim-Muslim ticket.
According to him, let us collectively make Nigeria great again by making inevitable selfless sacrifices just like Abiola by always demanding socioeconomic and political justice, equality, truth, egalitarian society and good governance.
“The President should also use the 30th anniversary of annulled June 12 to give national honours to former Chairman of National Electoral Commission, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, who conducted the freest, fairest and most credible elections in the history of the country.
“Also worthy of National Honours are late wife of Abiola, Mrs Kudirat Abiola, Pa Alfred Rewane and Chief Gani Fawehinmi for their patriotic struggles toward reclaiming the annulled June 12 presidential election which is the worst man’s inhumanity against man.q
“Pertinently such National Honours will motivate citizens to makes selfless sacrifices towards nation growth and development bearing in mind they will be appreciated and reciprocated now or in future,” he said.
The CLO chairman commended former President Muhammadu Buhari for giving highest national honor to Abiola and for declaring June 12 public holiday, “for without June 12 there won’t have been May 29.” (NAN)
