The annulment of June 12 1993 presidential election led to bloodshed, serious division and disunity in Nigeria, Alhaji Bola Tinubu, one of the key players for the actualisation of the mandate, declared on Tuesday.

The National leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) said in an interview at the presidential villa that the recognition of June 12 as Democracy Day was a demonstration of the resolve by the people to collaborate to drive democracy.

He said that the fight against the annulment of the June 12 election was a battle of principle, philosophy, and restoration of democratic process.

He said that it was the same collaboration also in 2014 that led to the installation of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu said that the courage, commitment and fortitude of Buhari to recognise June 12 was worthy of recognition and commendation.

In an interview segment on TVC television on the side line of the investiture of national honours on MKO Abiola, the winner of the June 12, election, and other pro-democracy activists, some Nigerians expressed happiness over Buharis advancement of democracy.

Mr. Mike Iginni, The Electoral Commissioner representing Akwa Ibom state, accused Nigerian elite of causing the crisis in Nigeria.

The elite are the problems of Nigeria and they remain the problem.

The fingers of providence have continue to point to Nigeria as unjust nation.

In spite of court pronouncement on the illegality of Chief Earnest Shonekan, as head of Interim National government to supplant the June 12 election, Shonekan, a kinsman of Abiola, has continued to parade himself as a former Nigerian leader.

Shonekan government was declared illegal but he keeps attending Council of State meetings and collecting salary, Iginni queried.

Mr Joe Igbokwe, a politicians and social analyst, also berated the annulment of June 12 election.

He praised Buhari for the recognition and also said that the president was truly building Nigeria.

Buhari is washing Nigeria with soap, he said.

Buhari, he said was redressing injustice, saying: Some of the problems we have in Nigeria are products of injustices.

Buhari is healing the wounds, he said.

Source: NAN

Mr. Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has declared that more names will be announced later for national honours for their role in the struggle for democracy.

The SGF made the announcement in his opening remarks at the investiture of national honours on late MKO Abiola, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, and late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

At the presentation of the awards by President Muhammadu Buhari, the senior son of MKO Abiola, Mr Kola Abiola received the award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).

Hajia Ganiat Fawehinmi also received the award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) for her late husband, Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Ambassador Babagana Kingibe received his award of GCON)

Mustapha explained that June 12 represented common heritage of oneness and unity and a democracy not build on ethnic and religious divide.

This is time for nation building. We have to draw a road map for nation building in the interest of the future.

He said that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was internalising the democracy and putting history in perspective.

The SGF said that June 12 would be observed as public holiday with effect from 2019.

The umpire of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, had expressed happiness over the recognition of the day and said the action would rekindle the national consciousness for a better nation.

The Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Monday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for designating June 12 as Nigerias Democracy Day.

In a letter Nwosu wrote to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation ( SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha on Monday in Abuja, he also thanked Buhari for honouring the memory of Chief Moshood (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 election.

Nwosu, who presided over the polls later annulled by the military junta, said the conferment of national honours on Chief Abiola and his running mate, Amb. Babagana Kingibe, will rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better nation.

I thank His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government of Nigeria for recognizing June 12 as Democracy Day and also honouring the winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

Indeed, June 12, 1993 marked a turning point in Nigerias tortuous journey towards a democratic polity.

It is an honour to the very hard-working men and women of the defunct National Electoral Commission under my leadership at this long awaited recognition. I humbly commend this action by the President.

Undoubtedly the democratic system of governance is the best especially for the multi ethnic nation like ours. I thank you for building on the foundation which my team and I laboured strenuously to establish and actualize on June 12, 1993.

It is our hope that expanding the frontiers of democracy of which all the people of Nigeria, regardless of ethnic group, will provide economic, social and developmental benefits that will certainly make Nigeria a great nation not only in Africa but across the world.

He added that the scheduled event on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 would rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better Nation.

He noted that he wont be able to attend the investiture ceremony, because he was not in the country presently.(NAN)

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday performed the investiture of national honours on heroes of democracy and tendered a national apology to the family of late Chief Moshood Abiola, for the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election which was adjudged to have been won by Abiola.

MKO Abiola and Ambassador Babagana Kingibe were the candidates of Social Democratic Pary (SDP) that contested the election in 1993.

Buhari also tendered national apologies to all those who struggled for the actuallisation of the election, including journalists, politicians and all other stakeholders.

The President personally presented the awards to Mr Kola Abiola, son of MKO Abiola; Mrs Ganiat Fawehinmi, wife of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi; and Ambassador Babagana Kingigbe, who was the running mate to Abiola.

Buhari said as he presented the awards that the ceremony was not to open old wounds of inexplicable annulment of the election which was clear to have been won by MKO Abiola.

We recognise that an error has been committed.

We will no longer tolerate such perversion of justice.

This honour if for the grievous injustice done to the country.

It is meant to assist at healing the wounds and building national reconciliation of the 25 years of wounds caused by the annulment.

I earnestly urge Nigerians to accept it in good faith and bury the past of June 12.

We are celebrating June 12 as a democracy sustenance, freedom, unity and national cohesion.

It will impact impact positively on the next generation.

I tender the nations apology to the family of MKO Abiola, Also to those who struggle and stood for June 12.

Buhari declared a minute silence in honour of the victims of June 12.

Mr Kola Abiola and his sister Hafsat Biola spoke on behalf of the family of MKO Abiola, saluting Buhari for the honour done to the gladiators of June 12 and for honouring their father.

Hafsat said Today is important because in presents the unity of Nigeria.

She appealed to all politicians to appreciate Nigerians,

I urge all Nigerians to support President Buhari.

Acknowledging the apology tendered by Buhari, Hafsat in her stoic philosophy, also apologised to President Buhari and members of his family.

On behalf of teh MKO Abiola family, I apologise to you and your family for anything that we would have done to hurt you and your family.

By recognising June 12, you have awoken all those victims of the oppression and also a call-up for a new beginning for the defence of the country.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja approved the conferment of National Honours on three distinguished Nigerians who contributed immensely to the enthronement of democratic governance in the country.

They are Rt. Honourable, Chief Agunwa Anekwe, former Speaker, House of Representatives in the Third Republic; Senator Iyorchia Ayu, former Senate President in the Third Republic; and Senator Ameh Ebute, Senate President in the Third Republic.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha who announced this in his welcome address at conferment of posthumous national honours on Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, said their investiture will take place at a later date.

”These awards serve as a public acknowledgement of their pivotal contribution to nationhood and a further demonstration of this Administration’s commitment to upholding the ethos of democratic governance,” the SGF said.

On the significance of the Federal Government’s proclamation of June 12 as “Democracy Day”, Boss noted that it was in recognition of the public acknowledgement of ”our heroes past whose supreme efforts laid the foundation for our nascent democracy. ”

”Today marks a new dawn in the Nation’s political and democratic advancement signalling the deepening of our belief in the democratic principles of inclusiveness in governance and hope for a greater Nigeria.

”The monumental election that took place on June 12, 1993, represented the first time in the history of our nation that Nigerians voted not for tribe or creed or region but for their convictions, affirming their common heritage and unity of purpose,” he said.

The SGF also added: ”June 12, more than any other day, symbolized the varied struggles and sacrifices made by fellow citizens of this great nation, established democracy as our political system of governance, and opened a new chapter in the political history.

”It is in commemoration of this day, the spirit of which should be internalized in the consciousness of Nigerians of all ages and taught to our children and generations of Nigerians yet unborn, that this Administration has, in placing history in the right perspective, declared June 12 of every year as Democracy Day and as a national holiday”.

NAN reports that the highpoint of the event was the conferment of posthumous national honours on Chief Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 election, as Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) and Chief Gani Fawehinmi as the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

The President also decorated Ambassador Babagana Kingibe with GCON at the ceremony.
The senior son of MKO Abiola, Mr Kola Abiola received the award of GCFR while Hajia Ganiat Fawehinmi also received the award of GCON for her late husband.

Ambassador Kingibe was present to receive his award of GCON.

Source: NAN

Some fans of the Super Eagles of Nigeria have expressed fears that the proliferation of sports betting outfits in the country might affect the expected unwavering support for the team in Russia.

Some of the fans expressed their fears while speaking on the Coupe de Mundial which begins on Thursday with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Eagles are in Group D alongside the Albiceleste of Argentina, Icelands Strkarnir Okkar (Our Boys) and Vatreni of Croatia.

Online Betting Shop

The Eagles open their account at the World Cup against the Vatreni of Croatia on Saturday at 8 p.m.

A number of the fans said the supporters were now scampering for money through football betting.

They were of the opinion that the days when fans had no options than to support the team were gone, adding that sports betting had opened a new vista with which sports enthusiasts could make money.

Sports betting dates as far back as the time of Greek City States about 2,000 years ago.

The Romans then adopted this from the Greeks and turned it into a money generating source via the arena, gladiators games.

Although efforts were made to squash sports betting in the middle ages but sports betting already had its hold on the people and those efforts were futile.

A businessman, Chima Okenwa, said the introduction of football betting in the country had exposed the business aspect of the game.

Okenwa said it was now customary for some fans to tip their teams to lose a match against probable superior opponents to increase their chances during staking.

Vitalis Momah, a civil servant, aligning with Okenwa said: It is now all about the money involved in staking a bet.

Since I got into football betting, I erased emotion and sentiment from my lexicon. I now watch games with the hope to win money from them.

According to him, the World Cup provides 30 days of hope and aspiration for fans to make money from many fronts.

However, I sincerely pray for the Super Eagles to perform well at the Coupe de Mundial, but the players need to assure me before I can tip them against their opponents while betting, he said.

Smith Oklobia, also a civil servant, said he had prepared to invest money in all the matches that would be played, adding that he could only pray for teams he would mark for victory.

This is not to say I will not pray for the Super Eagles, I am patriotic, but it is time to make some cash, he said.

On his part, Mohammed Abubakar, said the Eagles remained his number one team to support, adding, however, that football betting had changed the fans following configuration in the country.

I do bet sometimes with club football. The World Cup is like war and therefore, we must support our team, Abubakar said.

There are approximately 19 functional Online Sports Betting sites that can be accessed by people in Nigeria

Source: NAN

A man accused of being a member of a far-right extremist group on Tuesday admitted buying a machete with the intention of killing an elected member of the British parliament.

Jack Renshaw changed his plea to guilty ahead of the start of a trial at Londons Old Bailey court involving himself and five other men accused of being members of the white supremacist neo-Nazi group National Action.

The British government banned the group in 2016 following the murder of Jo Cox, a Member of Parliament (MP) from the opposition Labour Party, in a frenzied street attack by a Nazi-obsessed loner a week before a referendum on EU membership.

The court heard that Renshaw had bought a machete with the intention of killing Rosie Cooper, another female Labour MP.

Renshaw also admitted a charge of threatening another man with a view to his killing a woman, believing that the murder would take place.

In the event, the crime did not happen. (Reuters/NAN)

Source: NAN

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Tuesday in Abuja requested President Muhammadu Buhari to institute an award to name and shame all those who truncated Nigerias democratic transition with the annulment of June 12, presidential elections.

Speaking at the National Honours Investiture for heroes of democracy, Soyinka said: Today perhaps is also a day to inaugurate our hall of shame so that as we have hall of heroes in one handwe also have hall of shame as a lesson to future generations.

According to Nobel laureate: It is not possible to honour MKO Abiola in one breath and admire his tormentor in another breath.

Loyalty is all very well but loyalty can become perverse if that loyalty is retained to an individual who if he were alive today will be before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Soyinka, who did not mention the name of the Nigerian, described him as one broke the laws of Nigeria, broke international law and committed crimes against humanity.

He added: It is confusing if professional loyalty is carried so far as to be accorded to such an individual.

The Nobel laureate recounted his private conversation with the President, where he had argued why a notorious corrupt ruler was honoured by the Federal Government while the martyrs of democracy and philanthropists were left unhonoured.

Soyinka commended the President for tendering an apology to Nigerians and the family of Chief MKO Abiola for the wrong done to democracy in 1993 by the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections.

There are too many traumatised individuals walking the streets as a result of the policies and attitudes of one of the most brutal dictators that this nation has ever known.

Closure will come by responding to those traumatised individuals, the victims of unspeakable tortures, some of whom were compelled to watch their beloved ones being tortured, he said.

Soyinka, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government not to forget the nameless and unsung heroes and heroines of the June 12 struggle.(NAN)

Source: NAN

In his book, ‘My Life and Nigerian Politics’, Tony Anenih, who was the national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) when the June 12, 1993 election was held, made a number of claims on the crisis.

Ibrahim Babangida, then military president, annulled the results of the presidential election presumed to have been won by MKO Abiola, the SDP candidate.

Anenih, in the book launched in 2016, said Abiola told him repeatedly that Babangida was trying to embarrass him.

“On the issue of June 12, Chief MKO Abiola had called me on the phone to come for an urgent meeting in Ikeja. I flew to Ikeja and met Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, Dr Dele Cole, and Kola, MKO’s son,” he wrote.

“At the meeting, Chief MKO told us that his friend, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, planned to embarrass him. He kept repeating this without stating the type of embarrassment.”

IBB NOT PICKING ABIOLA’S CALLS

Later, Abiola insisted that they must leave his house for Kola’s.

“He was terribly frightened and depressed. We all moved to Kola’s house in Maryland. Right from this time, Chief Abiola was trying to get President Babangida on the phone, but each time he tried (Halilu) Akilu (then director-general, National Intelligence Agency) received the call,” Anenih wrote.

“We could hear Chief Abiola telling Akilu to tell his friend (IBB) that they were still friends, and that he should allow him to be president even for one day, and he would resign thereafter; that all the photographs they took together were still all over his house, and that he should not forget the past, and that God would bless him.

“MKO would repeat Akilu’s words: ‘You mean I should call back in 30 minutes? Okay, I will call back in 30 minutes’. This went on till 7pm when the national anthem was sung on the television and MKO hysterically was saying, ‘Do you see my friend? You see him? You see my friend? He wants to embarrass me. Pointing to the television and there was IBB with a piece of paper in his hand. It was the annulment speech of June 23, 1993, by which President Babangida annulled the election and repealed Decree NO 13 of 1993 and 52 of 1992 on which basis the election had been conducted.”

Anenih said that at a meeting, Babangida made it clear that the military would not accept Abiola as its commander-in-chief.

“He (Babangida) told the meeting that the military would not accept MKO Abiola and Alhaji Tofa as their commander-in-chief of the armed forces and that we should go and prepare for a fresh presidential election with new candidates,” he said.

“He directed that the SDP and NRC should arrange fresh conventions to pick new candidates. He gave the two political parties six weeks to conduct fresh primaries, confirm the nomination of their candidates and hold fresh elections – an action President Babangida knew would not be possible.”

‘ABIOLA WOULD HAVE BEEN ALIVE’

Anenih also said Abiola’s persistent refusal to listen to his advice landed him in jail and ultimately led to his death.

Anenih said he advised Abiola against declaring himself president, but that he refused to listen.

He said Abiola reached a secret agreement with Sani Abacha, former head of state, to take over from Ernest Shonekan, interim president, but he fled the country when things were heating up, leaving his supporters behind.

He said when Abiola came back to the country frustration drove him to declare himself president after his scheming to succeed Shonekan had failed.

‘ABIOLA KEPT US IN THE DARK’

Anenih said the late businessman kept the leadership of the party out of his negotiations with the military.

“It is a pity indeed, that Chief Abiola kept the leadership of the party away from his arrangement with General Ababcha to take over from Shonekan. If he had brought it to the notice of the leadership of the party, he would have been advised well,” he wrote.

“In a similar but not exactly identical set of circumstances, I had advised Chief Abiola against declaring himself the president of this country when frustration arising from Abacha’s refusal to hand-over to him drove him into that extreme line of thought. I spoke to him on telephone pointing out that the army was not there to back him up. He had no police support, and not even the immigration or customs would back him.

“It was clear to me that the course of action to which Chief MKO Abiola was heading was not only going to be self-destructive, but also ruinous. He was play into the hands of the military and offer himself as a sacrificial lamb by delivering himself to those who for various and obvious reasons, very much wanted him out of the scene.

“Chief Abiola did not listen. The result of his line of action landed him in jail.

“I wished he had listened to my advice not to declare himself president of this country. If he did, I believe he would, in all probability, still be alive today. Frustration arising from the collapse of his scheming drove him into extreme step which, in the end, set up a chain of events that ultimately caused him his life.”

(The Cable NG)

The umpire of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, is elated that the recognition of the day will rekindle the national consciousness for a better nation.

The Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Monday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for designating June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.

In a letter Nwosu wrote to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation ( SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha on Monday in Abuja, he also thanked Buhari for honouring the memory of Chief Moshood (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 election.

Nwosu, who presided over the polls later annulled by the military junta, said the conferment of national honours on Chief Abiola and his running mate, Amb. Babagana Kingibe, “will rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better nation.”

“I thank His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government of Nigeria for recognizing June 12 as Democracy Day and also honouring the winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

“Indeed, June 12, 1993 marked a turning point in Nigeria’s tortuous journey towards a democratic polity.

“It is an honour to the very hard-working men and women of the defunct National Electoral Commission under my leadership at this long awaited recognition. I humbly commend this action by the President.

“Undoubtedly the democratic system of governance is the best especially for the multi ethnic nation like ours. I thank you for building on the foundation which my team and I laboured strenuously to establish and actualize on June 12, 1993.

“It is our hope that expanding the frontiers of democracy of which all the people of Nigeria, regardless of ethnic group, will provide economic, social and developmental benefits that will certainly make Nigeria a great nation not only in Africa but across the world.”

He added that the scheduled event on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 would rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better Nation.

He noted that he won’t be able to attend the investiture ceremony, because he was not in the country presently.

(NAN)