Should Late Chief M.K.O Abiola’s Portrait Be On Naira Notes?

According to a group’s chairman, Alfred Ilenre, “The Federal Government should posthumously recognize late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election and immortalize the memory of the custodian of the mandate and declare June 12 every year as M.K.O Abiola day.”

A civil society organisation, June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations, J12CODEF, has called on the Federal Government to approve the portrait of late Chief M.K.O Abiola.

Abiola is said to be the winner of the aborted June 12, 1993 presidential election.

The group made the demand yesterday, at a briefing in Lagos, lamenting that 23 years after the presidential election, the Federal Government has not immortalized the late business mogul. 

Ilenre attributed the state of insecurity in the country to failure of successive governments since 1999 to address issues pertaining to the annulled elections.

His words, “This criminal annulment of the election was an assault on the collective sensibilities of millions of Nigerians who freely gave their mandate to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola via the ballot box.

“Thus, the failure of successive governments since the advent of democratic rule in 1999 to address the issue of June 12 on the side of justice has resulted in sundry crisis bedeviling the Nigerian state such as Boko Haram, Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB/Biafra, Corruption, militancy in the Niger Delta, Fulani herdsmen menace, kidnappings and others,” he added.

Mr. Nelson Ekujumi, the group Secretary, said “The crisis bedeviling Nigeria cannot be resolved without restructuring the country along the lines of true federalism.‎”