Former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order an investigation into the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and punish those indicted, including former military president Ibrahim Babangida (retd).
Musa argued that Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day was not enough to assuage the feelings of ordinary Nigerians.
The former governor, who spoke on Friday in his residence at an event organized to mark this year’s Democracy Day, said those who annulled the election adjudged as the freest and fairest election in Nigeria’s history should be blamed for the problems the country is going through today.
He stressed that it was imperative for the President to investigate and punish those behind the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola.
Musa said, “President should complete the task he started by investigating the circumstances that led to the annulment of June 12, (fish out) those responsible for the annulment and punish them effectively so that it will not happen again.
“If President Muhammadu Buhari does not go further and do this, anybody can do the same thing like (Ibrahim) Babangida who annulled June 12 and got away with it. Up till now, he (Babangida) is getting away with it. We must make sure that does not happen.”
Also speaking, a National Executive Council member of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Isa Aremu, said the public apology tendered by Buhari to Nigerians and Abiola’s family over the annulment was enough punishment for those who annulled the election.
Aremu said the late Abiola earned the posthumous honour Buhari conferred on him last year.
“We must democratise the public space and rescue the country from the total capture and dominance of few unaccountable self-serving ruling elite. We must eradicate poverty as envisioned by Abiola.
“There is what I call ‘insufficiency in democratic practices’ among the politicians that is worsening the crisis of governance in the country. Security and economic challenges can only be overcome if ordinary people are involved in governance,” he said.