A former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and labour leader, Comrade Issa Aremu, have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to go beyond recognising June 12 as Democracy Day and investigate the annulment of the 1993 election.
Addressing a joint press conference to mark June 12 in Kaduna yesterday, they said those who annulled the June 12, 1993 election were responsible for the many challenges Nigeria is currently facing, and should be punished.
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Balarabe Musa while commending President Buhari for surprising the nation by honouring MKO Abiola, said he should complete the task by investigating the circumstances leading to the annulment.
“If Buhari does not go further and do this, anybody can do same thing like Babangida who annulled June 12 and got away with it, up till now, he (Babangida) is getting away it. We must make sure that does not happen.
“We must also do something fundamental, that is changing the, socio-economic and political and cultural system controlling all development kin this country. And the way we can effectively do it is by making sure that Nigeria embarks on socialist reconstruction,” he said.
He however noted that such feat cannot be achieved under the present system of government, but by reverting to the defunct regional government.
Comrade Issa Aremu said the public apology tendered by President Buhari to Nigerians and the family of MKO Abiola over the annulment is a verbal punishment of those who annulled the election.
Aremu said Abiola earned the deserved posthumous honour conferred on him last year and the National Stadium Abuja being renamed after him considering that he was referred to as the pillar of sports in Africa.
He however said that honoring Abiola should be more than renaming monuments, but that Nigeria must deepen democracy he fought and died for.
“We must democratize the public space and rescue the country from the total capture and dominance of a few unaccountable self serving ruling elite. We must eradicate poverty as envisioned by Abiola,” he said.
