‘MKO Abiola’s Portrait Should Be N50 Currency’ By Monsur Olowoopejo

Lagos—A civil society group, June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations, J12CODEF, has demanded that the Federal Government approve the portrait of late Chief M.K.O Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, on the country’s N50 currency or future currencies.

The group made the demand yesterday, at a briefing in Lagos, lamenting that 23 years after the Presidential election, the central Government has not immortalized the late business mogul.

The group chairman, Mr. Alfred Ilenre, said; “The Federal Government should posthumously recognize late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election and immortalize the memory of the custodian of the mandate and the day by declaring June 12 every year as M.K.O. Abiola day.” Ilenre attributed the state of insecurity in the country to lack of successive governments since 1999 to address issues pertaining to the annulled elections. His words,

“This criminal annulment of the election was an assault on the collective sensibilities of millions of Nigerians who freely gave their mandate to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola via the ballot box.

“Thus, the failure of successive governments since the advent of democratic rule in 1999 to address the issue of June 12 on the side of justice has resulted in sundry crisis bedeviling the Nigerian state such as Boko Haram, Indegenous People Of Biafra, IPOB/Biafra, Corruption, militancy in the Niger Delta, Fulani herdsmen menace, kidnappings and others,” he added. Mr. Nelson Ekujumi, the group Secretary, said “The crisis bedeviling Nigeria cannot be resolved without restructuring the country along the lines of true federalism.