Senator Adams Oshiomhole has rejected calls for posthumous recognition of the late Professor Humphrey Nwosu, former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), insisting that he failed Nigerians by not declaring the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Speaking during a Senate debate on Thursday, Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, accused Nwosu and former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida of deceiving the 18 million Nigerians who participated in the historic election.
“Professor Nwosu and President Babangida fooled the 18 million Nigerians who voted.
“If he was afraid of the gun because we were under a dictatorship, some people might say, ‘Well, there were Nigerians who protested under the gun without minding the consequences,” Oshiomhole said.
He argued that Nwosu had ample opportunity to set the record straight after Nigeria’s return to democracy but chose to remain silent.
“After the end of Babangida’s tenure, the death of Abiola, and the birth of the new democracy that produced President Obasanjo, I would have expected Nwosu to say—either on his birthday or on a special occasion—‘I couldn’t declare these numbers then, but now, on my record, Abiola won this election. I just wasn’t able to announce it,’” he said.
“He died without confession; he cannot be rewarded,” Oshiomhole added, insisting that history should not be rewritten to honour Nwosu.
The debate arose during deliberations on a motion sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), which sought to recognize Nwosu’s role in Nigeria’s democratic transition. However, Oshiomhole maintained that true courage would have meant announcing Abiola’s victory despite the risks, arguing that since Nwosu failed to do so, he should not be celebrated.
