June 12: We Told Nwosu To Declare Abiola As Winner Of Election – Oshiomhole

Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, has disclosed that the former Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), late Professor Humphrey Nwosu, was told to declare Chief MKO Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, but he failed to do so.

Oshiomhole, who spoke on Friday during an edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, argued that the heavens wouldn’t have fallen if Nwosu had declared Abiola as the winner of the election.

Naija News reports the former Edo State Governor made the submission while speaking on Nwosu’s role in the annuled June 12, 1993 presidential election.

He said the worst that could have happened to Nwosu then was for him to have been imprisoned by the military junta of General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).

Oshiomhole submitted that the late Prof. Nwosu failed, lacked courage and ultimately, could have done better in handling the entire situation.

“If Nwosu had declared him, heaven would not fall.

“What may happen at best is that they will detain him, and how do you now detain him because he has followed the law enacted by the military?”

“We told him that having organised the election up to the presidency, why won’t you just do the next step of declaring the winner? Abiola died pursuing a mandate, he had to proclaim himself as the winner, which Nwosu was going to do.

“If Abiola can have the courage, Abiola was not a militant. He wasn’t a Professor of Political Science; he was basically a businessman, but he had enough courage to say ‘I won this election.’ Someone who has the background in Political Science ought to be able to do even better than that,” Oshiomhole said.