- Safiu Kehinde
The Senate has on Thursday dismissed motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
The motion, which was previously raised by Abia state lawmaker, Sen. Emeka Abaribe, had led to clash between the lawmaker and Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, after it was turned down by the Red Chamber.
Recall that the late Prof. Nwosu oversaw the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was annulled by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd), sparking an age-long controversy which was finally put to rest following Babangida’s admittance of Moshood Abiola’s victory last month.
Abaribe re-sponsored the motion for Nwosu’s immortalization again at the plenary session on Thursday.
He called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
The motion, however, sparked a heated debate once again as it was met with mixed reactions from lawmakers who argued over Nwosu’s legacy.
According to report, Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
In the same vein, Senator Austin Akobundu described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
However, other lawmakers which include Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi, on his part, argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi slammed Nwosu for failing to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.