The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it is yet to receive the resolution of the National Assembly asking it to release the result of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Recall that the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida halted the release of the results and the announcement of the winner after states had released the results. He however subsequently annulled the results and declared the election invalid.
The resolution of the Senate followed President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day and the posthumous award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) to Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the election.
The Director, Voter Education and Publicity of the Commission, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, confirmed in a telephone interview with The Nation the electoral umpire was yet to receive the copy of the resolution.
Uzi also said there was nothing the commission until it was in possession of the resolution. He explained that it would amount to mere speculation for INEC to react over the said resolution.
The Nation also reported that INEC might not be in a position to carry out the assignment when it eventually received the resolution, as the commission was not in existence at the time the election was conducted.
The election was conducted by the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria under the Chairmanship of Prof. Humphrey Nwosu while the current electoral body, INEC, was only created in 1998. Uzi said: “We have not received the resolution and so we cannot comment until we have received it. When we get it, we will study and then react to it. Since we don’t have it, that is speculative, and I can’t speculate.
