- Former presidential aide, Doyin Okupe, has urged Nigerians to stop castigating Obasanjo for not immortalising Abiola
- President Buhari had on Wednesday, June 12, named national stadium Abuja, after MKO Abiola
- Okupe, however, noted that only a strong president from the northern part of the country can institutionalise June 12 without any eyebrow from any section
Doyin Okupe, a former spokesperson to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, has urged Nigerians not to castigate his boss for not honouring the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 election, late Chief MKO Abiola.
Nigerian Tribune reports Okupe stated this in his remarks at a commemorative lecture organised by the Ladi Adebutu development organisation to mark June 12 celebration with the theme: “June 12: The Yoruba race in a reunited Nigeria”, in Abeokuta, on Wednesday, June 13.
Legit.ng gathered that the former senior special assistant on public affairs to former president Goodluck Jonathan said any attempt by the former president to immortalise Abiola would have been met by stiff opposition from the northern politicians and leaders.
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He submitted that only a strong president from the northern part of the country can institutionalise June 12 without any eyebrow from any section, saying that his former boss only avoided issue(s) that could be generated if he had recognised June 12 as Democracy Day.
The chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said there is no better person; there is no better government that can institutionalise June 12 except government headed by a strong northerner, otherwise it will create serious controversy.
He said: “Buhari by providence has been well-placed. He is not just an ordinary northerner, but a very strong one that a lot of northerners have respect for, that even if they disagree with him, they will not vent their disagreement. They will hold their peace. And therefore, it was easier for him to do it. We give God the glory that it has been done. Delay is not denial.
“When they started Sharia in Zamfara state, Obasanjo publicly endorsed it and allowed it. No northern president can do that effectively without incurring major riot. Those who can complain and those who can show dissension, because it was one of their own that endorsed it (June 12) also kept quiet.”
The convener of the lecture, Hon Oladipupo Adebutu said Abiola could be best immortalised if the country could conduct free and fair elections like June 12.
Adebutu, a former member of the House of Representatives, maintained that June 12 remained the foundation of Nigeria’s contemporary politics.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a former secretary to the government of the federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, on Wednesday, June 12, said Obasanjo was one of the architects of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was won by the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
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Buhari honours Abiola as FG hosts Democracy Day in Abuja | - on Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
