Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, has opposed the move to immortalise Humphrey Nwosu, former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC).
Speaking on Thursday during a senate debate on a motion
sponsored by Enyinnaya Abaribe, Abia south, Oshiomhole argued that Nwosu did
not deserve such recognition.
Nwosu, who chaired NEC from 1989 to 1993, died in October
2024 at the age of 83. He is set to be buried on Saturday in his home state,
Anambra.
Oshiomhole accused Nwosu and the then military head of
state, Ibrahim Babangida, of deceiving Nigerians who turned out to vote in the
June 12, 1993 presidential election, only for the process to be annulled.
“Professor Nwosu and President Babangida fooled the 18
million Nigerians who voted. If he was afraid of the gun because we were under
a dictatorship, some people might say, ‘Well, there were Nigerians who
protested under the gun without minding the consequences,’” Oshiomhole said.
“After the end of Babangida’s tenure, the death of Abiola,
and the birth of the new democracy that produced President Obasanjo, I would
have expected Nwosu to say — either on his birthday or on a special occasion —
‘I couldn’t declare these numbers then, but now, on my record, Abiola won this election.
I just wasn’t able to announce it.’
“He died without confession; he cannot be rewarded.”
Oshiomhole also said some of the contents of the motion
brought to the senate by Abaribe were “manipulative”.
The former governor of Edo state attributed the annulment of
the June 12, 1993, presidential election to Nwosu’s “failure” to officially
declare the results, adding that the decision ultimately derailed the
democratic process.
“We cannot distort history in this senate. If Professor Nwosu
had the courage to announce the winner, and dare the consequences, it would
have been different. When it matters most, his courage failed him,” Oshiomhole
added.
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