The Senate has asked President Muhammad Buhari to declare acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 election, late Chief MKO Abiola as ex-president.
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The request, which was made at a plenary on Thursday, is coming on the heels of President Buhari’s pronouncement of June 12 as the new Democracy Day in place of May 29, in honour of Abiola.
The Senate hailed Buhari for honouring Abiola, and his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe.
However, it urged the president to go the whole hog by declaring Abiola as ex-President with Kingigbe as his vice.
The Upper chamber also resolved that the Independent National Electoral Commission (then the National Electoral Commission) should declare the results of the 1993 election.
Meanwhile, Senator Dino Melaye has expressed mixed feelings about the honour hailing and condemning Buhari in the same breath.
Melaye said, “I am a democrat. I believe very sincerely that Chief MKO Abiola deserves even more than the President has pronounced because he was a true patriot, philanthropist and should be so decorated. But, we are governed in the country by the constitution and extant laws. No matter how beautiful a situation is, the law of the land remains the law of the land.
“We should not be emotional about this. The law remains the law. They said ‘in person.’ For us to do what we are supposed to do, we would have to amend the provisions of this Act because anything we need to do, we have to do it in accordance with the provisions of the law.”
