Chairman Senate Committee of the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to posthumously swear in late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola as Nigeria’s duly elected President of the annulled June 12, 1993, election.
Speaking with Senate journalists at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Kalu insisted that such a move would serve as a historic correction of the injustice done to Abiola and his family, as well as a step toward national reconciliation. He also urged the government to include Abiola’s official portrait among those of past Nigerian Presidents.
“Abiola won the election, and there is no doubt about that. I want them to put Abiola’s picture where other former Presidents’ pictures are placed. I will appeal to President Tinubu to swear him in posthumously,” Kalu said.
The former Abia governor appreciated former President Muhammadu Buhari for conferring a national honor on Abiola but emphasized that more should be done to fully recognize his victory.
“I am thankful to President Buhari who gave him the National Award, but he should be sworn in posthumously so the family will be healed and given the rights accorded to former Presidents,” he added.
Kalu also criticized former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s autobiography, A Journey in Service, for failing to disclose the full details of the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. He urged Babangida to release a second edition that names the key figures responsible for the decision.
“Ibrahim Babangida is my master, and everybody knows that. I will visit him soon to discuss this. But I am waiting for the second edition of his book because the first did not reveal all the realities of what happened, especially regarding Humphrey Nwosu and the National Electoral Commission (NEC). Babangida should tell us the full truth—not just mention Abacha but also those who stopped him from declaring Abiola as the winner,” Kalu stated.
