…APC hails Buhari for honouring for gesture
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for honouring the late businessman and politician, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, with a posthumous award of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (GCFR).
The party also applauded Buhari for awarding Abiola’s running mate, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe and the late human rights lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) and declaring June 12 as the Democracy Day.
But Governor Ayo Fayose urged Buhari to go a step further by officially declaring Abiola winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and also declare the late business mogul as the President-elect.
The Ekiti governor at a press briefing in Government House in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday argued that it is after this has been done that the GCFR honour conferred on Buhari will have constitutional backing.
The APC in a statement in Ado-Ekiti by the Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party praised Buhari for displaying a rare courage to address the nagging question on the relevance of June 12 election in Nigeria’s democratic credentials, saying the President had put to rest the pretensions and injustice inherent in the most peaceful and transparent election in the nation’s electoral process.
“Abiola is adjudged the winner and hero of our democracy for standing against the jackboots of the military dictators and paying the supreme price for being a resolute democrat.
“Abiola won the freest and fairest election without religious and tribal sentiments in the history of electoral process and democratization in Nigeria, but most unfortunately the conspiracy of the same capitalism agents that truncated Nigerians’ dream to have the late MKO Abiola as the President are now in PDP who benefited and assumed the control of our national government on the strength of June 12 symbolic history, struggle, and sacrifice.
“After profiting bountifully from the blood of MKO, they decided to selfishly and wickedly ignore that iconic national symbol and hero of democracy to give him a deserved place in history.
“Today, we are happy that another hero of democracy without tribal sentiment, who is also a progressive leader, President Buhari, has demonstrated integrity by not only honouring this fact of history, but has also done honour to the hero of democracy, who sacrificed his life to ensure that democracy establishes root in Nigeria,” he said.
Noting that PDP-led administration had failed Nigerians in many ways, including not recognising June 12 as the Democracy Day, he said it was disheartening that those who benefited from the late Abiola’s sacrifices chose to impose “an inconsequential and administrative day, May 29, as the nation’s Democracy Day instead of June 12.
“June 12 is our own Democracy Day and we will surely celebrate our hero and many others who struggled and sacrificed their lives so that we can have the people’s government, which Nigerians are enjoying today.”
Fayose said: “The honour done to Late Moshood Olawale Abiola (MKO) by President Muhammadu Buhari is a welcome development. We thank the President, even though we know it is for political reasons, we see it as a step in the right direction.
“We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to go to the next level and declare MKO the President of Nigeria because MKO won the election, but the then dictator, Ibrahim Babangida denied Nigerians that victory and the opportunity to have Abiola as our President.
“Having realized that they goofed, they have come out to right the wrong. Besides, you can’t keep such title of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (GCFR) without being the President of Nigeria, therefore the president should be courageous enough by declaring the results of the election and declare Abiola the winner of the June 12 poll. This is a lesson that what you do today will be reference point for others tomorrow.
“We condemn the annulment of the June12 Presidential poll results, brutality of Nigerians who protested against it, election rigging, brute force and manipulations during elections.”
