Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and former governor of Kaduna state, Balarabe Musa have called on President Muhammad Buhari to quickly embark on an investigation into the annulment of 1993 June 12 presidential election.
While speaking in Kaduna on Wednesday, at a press conference to mark Democracy day, Balarebe Musa who is Chairman, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) said President Buhari must go beyond declaring June 12 as a Democracy Day, but also informed Nigerians why the elections was annulled and punish those involved in the annulment for treasonable felony.
His words: “Every other election that comes after the June 12, 1993 were never free,
fair and credible. The ghost of June 12 will continue to hunt the country if the government fail to rise up and correct the mistakes of past”.
Musa, while applauding Buhari for recognizing June 12, maintained that the transition between the then military head of state, General Abdulsalam Abubakar to the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo was not a true democracy.
Also in a post on his Twitter handle on Wednesday, Fani Kayode said one of the questions that previous govts have to answer is why they refused to honor Chief MKO Abiola and declare June 12th as the authentic Democracy Day?
“No matter what we may feel about @MBuhari at least he found the courage to do that whilst others failed.
“The best way to honor MKO Abiola is not just to declare June 12th as Democracy Day but to also bring those that killed him to justice. They must be exposed and prosecuted for murder. It is only after that is done that the ghost of June 12th will die and Nigeria will know peace.”
The decision to now have June 12 as the country’s Democracy Day is based on the presidential election of June 12, 1993, which the late Abiola supposedly won. The poll was however annulled by them military president, Ibrahim Babangida.
President Buhari had last year declared June 12 as Nigeria’s new Democracy Day.
The declaration however became legal after the National Assembly not long ago passed into law, the bill for an Act to amend the Public Holidays Act to declare June 12 as Democracy Day in Nigeria.