12th June, 2017
Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State says the ideals of the late Chief MKO Abiola were yet to be realised 24 years after his victory in the annulled presidential election of June 12, 1993.
A statement issued by the governor’s Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, quoted Ajimobi as saying that the June 12, 1993, election was a turning point for the country.
He said the supreme price paid by the acclaimed winner of the election could never be forgotten.
Ajimobi described the late politician and business mogul as a symbol of democracy, praising him for his strong conviction that ordinary Nigerians must be freed from the shackles of oppression and penury.
“It was this conviction that Nigerian masses should be freed from their oppressors.
“He also stood the ground that the destiny of the whole nation should not be held to ransom by a cabal that propelled him to stand by his mandate and to defend it to the last.
“The democracy that we all are enjoying now was made possible by the likes of the late Abiola, late Chief Abraham Adesanya, late Chief Anthony Enahoro and Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu.
“Others are late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, late Chief Frank Kokori, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others too numerous to mention.
“This is why we must not allow any circumstance to wipe out the memory of June 12 when Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic or religious affiliations, voted overwhelmingly for a man after their heart,” he said.
Ajimobi prayed for the repose of Abiola’s soul and the souls of other Nigerians who lost their lives in the struggle to actualise the annulled presidential election.
“The only way to ensure that their sacrifice is not in vain is to promote and institutionalise good governance until poverty, injustice and insecurity are significantly reduced in Nigeria,’’ he said.
“This ideal of good governance that is centred on development remains the driving force of our administration.
“We fervently believe that this is what MKO would have wished for.
“That is why we would continue to follow in that path in order to keep his memory alive,” he added.