A former deputy governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to officially recognise the late winner of the annulled 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola, as a former President of the country.
Ojikutu’s call adds to the growing voices across the country urging the Federal Government to formally include Abiola in the list of past Nigerian presidents, citing the significance of his electoral victory and sacrifice for democracy.
Although the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration posthumously honoured Abiola with the title of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic — a title reserved for presidents — and declared June 12 as Democracy Day, many Nigerians believe further recognition is overdue.
Prominent Nigerians, including former Abia State governor and current Senator for Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, and a former Lagos State lawmaker, Jude Idimogu, have also urged Tinubu to place Abiola’s portrait among past presidents at the Presidential Villa as a symbol of national acknowledgment.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Ojikutu, who served as deputy to the late Governor Michael Otedola before the 1993 coup, questioned Tinubu’s reluctance to act on the matter.
According to her, one of Tinubu’s first actions as President should have been the formal declaration of Abiola as a past President, in line with his pro-democracy credentials.
She said, “What is he (Tinubu) doing that he has not recognised Abiola as a former President after all the paparazzi? I thought he said he is one of the strong supporters of Abiola and the June 12 struggle?
“He should acknowledge him because he is touting himself as being in the forefront of the fight for democracy and as someone who suffered for democracy — MKO Abiola. What is he waiting for?”
Ojikutu also drew a comparison with the Lagos State University, lamenting that Tinubu has not renamed the institution after its founder, the late Alhaji Lateef Jakande.
“Even the day he said subsidy is over, he could have said, ‘And now, I declare MKO our former president.’
Those two things could have softened the hearts of the people, especially considering how he emerged as President,” she added.
