Sikirulai Ogundele
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has been berated for what the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, termed ‘insensitivity to matters of importance to members of the public and indigenes of the state.
According to the party, the fact that Amosun did not declare Monday, June 13, as public holiday for the celebration of the anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, purportedly won by the late Chief MKO Abiola, who was from the state, but which was annulled by ex-president Ibrahim Babangida, is an indication that Amosun is not a democrat after all.
The party observed in a statement issued on behalf of its Chairman in the state, Sikirulahi Ogundele, by its Publicity Secretary, Malik Olamilekan Ibitoye, on Monday that Amosun has proven that he does not believe in the personality of the struggle that eventually forced the military out of power in Nigeria in 1999.
Ibitoye quoted Ogundele to have warned ‘the residents and indigenes of Ogun State not to fall into another trap of the All Progressives Congress-led Government in the state, when another election comes up in 2019.’
“We will like to state here that Amosun is perhaps the only Governor of the state that did not declare holiday for the anniversary of June 12, 1993 elections. Others such as former governors Olusegun Osoba and Gbenga Daniel did not fail to recognise June 12 and declare holidays for its celebration accordingly.
“With what has happened, everybody can now see that Amosun has jettisoned an important event that is being remembered all over the world as the height of insensitivity of the then military government to the yearning of the people for democratic rule.
“Amosun has nothing to lose by allowing the people of the state go on holiday to celebrate the anniversary of the annulment of the election adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of Nigeria, but this has shown to the world that Amosun obviously did not partake in the struggle for the restoration of democracy in the country which is symbolized by June 12. ” the statement read.
Ogundele emphasised that Governor Amosun should stop undermining the relevance of the heroes of the state, who he said contributed immensely to the development of the state in particular and Nigeria in general.
The party added that the late Chief Abiola has a larger than life image and that his popularity and acceptance could not be rubbished by the likes of Governor Amosun, who the party insisted has little or no respect for history and issues that affect the development of the state.
Ogundele subsequently advised Governor Amosun in the statement to seek counsel from elders and those that have governed the state in the past on what his attitude should be to what he called ‘sensitive matters’, and that his deliberate attempt to ‘kill the spirit of June 12’ will fail.
