Celebrating key actors of June 12 without NECON boss, Prof Nwosu incomplete–Ubani
Leading Lagos lawyer and former chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, Mr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani has made case for the celebration of former resilient chairman of then Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), known as chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON).
In a statement issued weekend and made available to Business Hilights via email, Barrister Ubani who stands currently as an executive member of NBA averred that “If I am one of the advisers of our dear President Buhari, I will write this speech below for him immediately and correct the observable anomaly that was committed recently when June 12th was recognized as our true democracy day and post humous award was given to MKO Abiola, Babagana Kingibe and Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN whereas a diligent and courageous citizen who played an important role in the June 12 debacle was conspicuously omitted”.
“In view of the regrettable omission of the name of Prof Humphrey Nwosu, as one of the agents of change of our national electoral process who ordinarily should have been included in the list of the awardees of the recent national honour, we hereby correct the omission and include his name accordingly and award to him the national honour of …………, which will be given to him on the same date that the announced awardees will be decorated”.
Other analysts who joined Ubani to raise the case of Prof Nwosu said Nwosu should first of all be remembered for his cleverness, focus and resistance from the Military leadership then in not stopping the announcement of the election results very early.
They argued that if he (Nwosu), had stopped announcing the result as at the time he was forced to, Nigerian would not have gotten the conviction that late Chief MKO Abiola was set to win after all. To them, that rare courage in the face of a military government is commendable and need to be crowned especially now, he is alive.
Besides, since the announcement by the presidency in a statement, there had been divergent views, suggesting that the masterstroke may have been sold to President Muhammadu Buhari by ‘Awoists’ within the corridors of power including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Babatunde Fowler, Babatunde Fashola and Minister of Communications, Barr Adebayo Shittu amongst others.
However, a set of civil societies who spoke on the development over the weekend, stressed that for the new development of recognizing Chief MKO Abiola as the winner of 1992 presidential election, all those that were part of the build up to the collapse of the process must be brought to book.
