Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of June 12 Coalition Democratic Formations Monday called on the federal government to compensate all the heroes and heroines of June 12 struggle.
The group also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to put in place mechanism for the establishment of June 12 Mandate Centre, which would serve as a warehouse and research institute to keep the memory of the annulled election.
General Secretary of the group, Comrade Nelson Ekujumi, made the demand at a press conference held at Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos to mark the 30th anniversary of the annulled June 12 Presidential Election widely believed to have been won by late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
They said the struggle for June 12, 1993 presidential mandate was about restructuring of Nigeria along the lines of true federalism for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous country.
“Therefore, as we continue on the nonnegotiable democratic path of seeking a better society through political restructuring of the polity to allow for devolution of political powers and deliver the dividends of democracy to the people, the June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations is hereby calling on His Excellency President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) to put in place mechanism for the establishment of a June 12 Mandate Protection Centre as a warehouse and research institute of the June 12 struggles to keep the memory of that sad event, election observation and other electoral issues to enrich our democracy.
“The June 12 Coalition is also demanding compensation for the victims of the June 12 struggle both living and dead,” Ekujumi said.
“The struggle for June 12, 1993 presidential mandate was about restructuring of Nigeria along the lines of true federalism for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous country and we at June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations remain resolutely and irrevocably committed to that philosophy.
“While we recognize that some of the gains that have been made in the course of our democratic journey so far, we must also admit that some human errors have been committed, but as the people with an eye on history, we cannot but remain focused on the larger picture of a democratic Federal Republic of Nigeria to the glory of God and benefit of humanity,” he said.
Ekujumi commended and congratulated Nigerians wholeheartedly for electing President Tinubu into office in the last general elections, noting that the new helmsman was one of the arrowheads of the June 12, 1993 struggles.
He said for eight years as governor of Lagos state, Tinubu was the arrowhead who initiated and consistently celebrated the annulled election between 1999 and 2007 in collaboration with other pro- democracy forces.
“It was his tenacity in keeping fate with June 12 commemoration that sustained the fire of the June 12 mandate even after he left office, with his successors in Lagos continuing in that tradition till it’s official recognition and declaration by the Nigerian state in 2018,” the group said.
The rights activist observed that President Tinubu’s administration had started on a good footing by his constructive engagement with critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project on national issues, saying this was a signpost of his towering credentials as a democrat per excellence “and reinforces our belief in Renewed Hope for Nigeria.”
Ekujumi called on Nigerians to continue to keep an abiding faith with democracy and refuse to be incited and hoodwinked by anti-democratic elements who do not wish the country well.
