Lekan Abiola, one of the children of the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, winner of the annulled June 12, 1993, elections, yesterday, disclosed that former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd), has apologised to the Abiola family for invalidating the polls.

Lekan said this at the MKO Abiola Memorial Symposium and preparations for the launch of a book, ?MKO Abiola: Symbol of Democracy,? held in Lagos under the aegis of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, KIND.

He also urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure the Federal Government pays all outstanding entitlements owed to his father, saying past administrations had failed to do so.

Addressing newsmen, the late politician?s son said the public apology tendered by Babangida came as a relief to the family because it ended all controversies surrounding the winner of June 12.

He said: ?We returned from the United States of America, we have met IBB and he has apologised privately to us. When he came out publicly to say that he was sorry for annulling the election and that MKO won the election, he did what he had done privately in public. Every year, he always sends someone to come and represent him here on the June 12 occasion.

?Before now, for the private apology, there was nothing we could do about that. It is as though someone punched you in public and said sorry in private. For him to come out publicly to admit that MKO did win the election, makes us feel at ease publicly. This is because some people are always saying: ?Are we even sure he won the election?? But now, he (Babangida) has released the full results. Officially, it is now known that MKO won the election, and that is no longer a controversy.?

Meanwhile, the author of the book, Dr. Layo Adeniyi, said: ?The book is about 440 pages. I can tell you there is nothing you want to know about Abiola you won?t find there. And particularly the situation now in the country as far as security is concerned, and above it all, disunity.

?The book is all about Abiola. I trace his roots, background and business growth. I also talk about his beginning in politics, which started with the defunct National Convention of Nigerian Citizens, NCNC. And above it all, he sojourned in the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, before the last dispensation. But the most important reason why I think it was very necessary to tell the story is that no election in Nigeria had ever been so free and fair.?

Enact law to institutionalise Abiola, family tells FG

Meanwhile, the Abiola family has urged the Federal Government to evolve legislation that will permanently institutionalise June 12, as the Democracy Day in Nigeria.

The spokesman for the Abiola family and one of the sons of the late Chief Abiola, Hameen Abiola noted that this remains the surest way to permanently immortalise and ensure that future generations in Nigeria do not abolish the day.

The spokesman for the Abiola family, Hameen Abiola, who spoke shortly after the annual visit of the Ogun State government delegation to the family house in Oja-Agbo, Abeokuta, said recent developments in the country have made it important for the Federal Government and the National Assembly to evolve a way for the younger generations to learn the values and sacrifices of June 12, 1993 election annulment.

He said: ?We appreciate the Federal Government of Nigeria for the honour done our father, he is not only our father, but a father of many Nigerians given the supreme sacrifice he had to pay for the democracy that we are all enjoying today.

?We thank former President Muhammadu Buhari for conferring on our father the award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, GCFR. That is a great step in the right direction. However, it is our passionate appeal that the Federal Government can permanently enact a bill that will forever make June 12 Democracy Day, so that the future generations who may not understand the roles that our father played in returning the country to democratic rule and abolishing June 12 as the Democracy Day which is picked to celebrate our father, Chief MKO Abiola?.

To mark the 32nd anniversary of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, and President of Women Arise, Joe Okei-Odumakin among others, called for true federalism as the only solution to the development challenges confronting Nigeria.

Speaking at the 25th edition of the OPC Commemoration of June 12, with the theme ?June 12 as a Catalyst for National Development: True Federalism and Nigeria?s Integration?, they stressed that federalism was the way forward for the country.

In his welcome address, Adams, who is the National Coordinator of the OPC, noted that though changing a country was not a task for the lily-livered, Nigerians had a record of not succumbing to machinations of ?enemies of the society?.

He said: ?We are here to tell those in the corridors of power that as long as they refuse to do the right thing, we will not stop talking.

?We must constantly remind ourselves that resistance is an endless and continuous battle. To transform a country, the shape or form of the polity must change periodically. Nigeria is going through various crises today because some leaders are stubbornly against restructuring.

?In honour of Abiola and other martyrs, I want to say that whether anybody likes it or not, this country will be restructured. And the earlier this is done, the better for all of us because there is no way we can guarantee peace and security if this country is not restructured.?

Also, President of Women Arise, Joe Okei-Odumakin, in her address, restated her call for the recognition of the Late MKO Abiola as a past President of Nigeria, with his image adorning the requisite government offices and structures.

She said: ?There must be security of lives and property. Insecurity is becoming an embarrassment in this country and I know this menace will become a thing of the past if this country is restructured. Our constitution must also be tinkered with to have a people?s constitution.?

On his part, Mr. Femi Falana, who was represented by Dr. Wale Adeoye, bemoaned the flawed constitution that Nigeria currently operates.

Falana noted that the current flawed constitution remained one reason why the country has not progressed.

He called for a truly representative constitution as a bedrock for true development.

Similarly, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said Nigeria was yet to recover from the ghosts of June 12.

Afenifere, in a statement by its Leader, Oba Ladipo Olaitan, said Nigeria can only overcome retrogression through restructuring.

He said: ?Another anniversary confirming that June 12, 1993, evidently happened to Nigeria is here again.

Chief M.K.O. Abiola and his pan-Nigerian mandate were killed by the self-serving political wing of the military and their collaborators. Very many innocent lives were lost. The society fundamentally retrogressed; as we were pointedly reminded that Nigeria remains a mere geographical expression, since amalgamation in 1914.

?Nigeria has not and will not appropriately recover from the ghosts of June 12, 1993, until a most holistic reconfiguration of the Nigerian polity is undertaken to remedy the injustice embedded in the present pseudo-democratic system.

?There must be a fundamental shift away from the winner-takes-all, buy-and-sell modality of capturing political power.

?We also hereby use the opportunity of the epoch-making anniversary of June 12, upon which the 4th Republic stands to issue the call and make the appeal to well-meaning Nigerians to muster the resolve and act in one accord by prevailing on President Ahmed Tinubu and the political class generally to prioritize restructuring of Nigeria into a true Federation in which its diverse nationalities and peoples will have a true sense of nationhood. It is possible to have a new constitution in this regard even before the 2027 general elections?, he said. (Vanguard)

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