Lagos State Government has declared Tuesday, June 12, 2018, as a public holiday in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the annulled 1993 Presidential elections adjudged to be have won by the late Moshood Abiola. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Tunji Bello on Saturday, said the significance of June 12, 1993 elections, seen as the freest and fairest in the history of Nigeria, would always be a reference point by the Lagos State Government. Ambode also commended President Buhari’s recent declaration of June as the new Democracy Day.
This, he said, would forever ensure that Chief MKO Abiola and other martyrs of democracy who laid down their lives in the struggle to entrench good governance did not do so vain.
“We want to commend and applaud Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari for deeming it fit finally against all odds from all other past presidents that 25 years after, we are able to now celebrate our own Democracy Day and also declare that the real winner of 1993 June 12 Presidential election was actually our own MKO Abiola. No matter how long you try to hide history, history will always reveal itself with a true platform. So, we know that is one very important singular step as we go forward to build an enduring democracy,” he said.
The governor added that June 12 is not just a day to remember in Lagos State, it is a rallying point for those of in service to continuously strive to entrench true democracy and good governance which are the ideals of Chief MKO Abiola.