SAN FRANCISCO, June 08, (THEWILL) – The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to honour late (Mrs) Kudirat Abiola, the wife of MKO Abiola – the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election.
The party made the request on Friday in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Bolaji Abdullahi, as it joined other Nigerians to commend the President for declaring June 12 as Nigeria’s new Democracy Day.
The ruling party also welcomed the posthumous award of Nigeria’s highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), granted to MKO Abiola.
However, the party noted that Kudirat paid the supreme price with her assassination on June 4, 1996, in Lagos, at the heat of the mobilisation for the restoration of her husband’s mandate as the winner of the election saying that in such regard, she deserves to be honoured in her own right as a heroine and martyr of democracy in Nigeria.
They further recalled how Kudirat mobilised market women, students, activists, and other human rights communities against military rule and the struggle for a truly democratic nation.
The party equally commend the decision to honour Abiola’s running mate, Babagana Kingibe, and late human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) with the second highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Niger (GCON).
The statement read, “As a party, we remain resolved in our struggle to deepen our democracy and continue to improve on the transparency and credibility of our electoral systems.
“We reiterate that regardless of its imperfections, democracy remains the best form of government that can best serve the interest of our people.
“We affirm that this decision by President Buhari yet again exemplifies APC’s commitment to the sanctity of popular elections and respect for the right of the people to freely choose their leaders in accordance with the fundamental principle of democracy that no man has the right to exercise power over other men, except with their consent.”
