- Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian lawmaker representing Edo North Senatorial District, Sen. Adams Oshiomole, has explained reason for his opposition of honouring former chairman of now defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), late Prof. Humphrey Nwosu.
NPO Reported that Abia lawmaker, Sen. Emeka Abaribe, had at the Senate’s plenary on Thursday re- sponsored a motion to immortalise Nwosu for his effort during the annulled June 12, 1999, Presidential election.
Abaribe had proposed the renaming of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the late NEC Chairman.
This had sparked mixed reactions from lawmakers with some defending the motion while others were against it.
Oshiomole was among the lawmakers against the motion.
Reacting to the motion, the former Edo state governor, accused Nwosu and former Military Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, of fooling 18 million Nigerian voters.
Oshiomole argued that Nwosu would have, since the return of democracy, opened up and confess to Nigerians on the June 12 election.
He held that Nwosu cannot be honoured owing to the fact that he died without confession and admittance to Moshood Abiola’s victory.
“Professor Nwosu and President Babangida fooled 18 million Nigerians that voted.
“Therefore, if he (Nwosu) was afraid of the gun, because we are under dictatorship, some people might say well. But there were Nigerians who were protesting under the gun without minding the consequences.
“After the end of Babangida tenure, the death of Abiola, the birth of the new democracy that produced President Obasanjo.
“Since then, I would have expected Nwosu to say, either on his birthday or on any special occassion, now that we back to democracy where freedom of speech- even the freedom, I would have expected Nwosu to say I do not declare this numbers.
“Now on my record, Abiola won this election. That he died without confession, he cannot be honoured.” Oshiomole said.
NPO Reported that other lawmakers also dismissed the motion with Senator Jimoh Ibrahim 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.