By Henry Umoru
THREE days to the burial of late Professor Humphrey Nwosu who was the Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, NEC that presided over election on June 12 1993 that was annulled by the then military government, his spirit resurrected in the hallowed Chamber of the Senate as senators engaged in a war of words over the move to immortalize him.
The controversy started on Wednesday when former Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, made moves to raise a point of order on the need to immortalize the late NEC boss. But the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, who presided declined to recognize him. The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, contended that the order raised by Abaribe was inappropriate as the plenary had gone beyond the privilege which Abaribe would have enjoyed to make Senators consider it.
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele had argued that the Senate had gone far with items in the Order Paper and that Abaribe’s point of Order could not be taken any longer in consonance with the Senate Standing Orders. Earlier, the Deputy Senate President declared that the point of order was controversial and expressed doubts that it would be approved before allowing Abaribe to speak on it.
Reacting to the Senate Leader’s submission, former Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, raised concerns on fears that the chamber was drifting into dictatorship where no Senator would be allowed to express his view as a result of conflict of Orders in the Senate Standing Rules and insisted that Senator Abaribe should be allowed to speak on the matter despite not getting the order correct.
Responding, Abaribe who insisted that the motion to immortalize late Nwosu was not a controversial one as pointed out by the Deputy Senate President, said: “I don’t know what is controversial about immortalizing Humphrey Nwosu on the June 12 incident. What is controversial there? What is our problem? It’s not controversial”.
Senator Bamidele however suggested that the motion could be brought on another day, which was sustained and Senator Abaribe was advised to bring up the motion on another legislative day. That day, Senator Victor Umeh was on television recalling achievements of Humphrey Nwosu that should easily earn him national honour on merit. He conducted the freest election in the history of Nigeria and battled against military intervention.
On Thursday, Senator Abaribe came up with the motion titled, “Motion to Immortalise Prof. Humphrey Nwosu”. The motion was sponsored by him and co-sponsored by 15 other Senators.Presenting the motion, Abaribe who acknowledged that the late Prof. Nwosu was the former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) from 1989 to 1999, said, “he was responsible for supervising the 1993 Presidential election.
“We recognise that his courageous defense of the democratic electoral process during the 1993 elections led to the famous June 12 event, which ultimately confirmed MKO Abiola as the winner of the presidential election. His unwavering commitment to electoral integrity played a key role in establishing June 12 as Nigeria’s official Democracy Day. Additionally, we note that Nwosu laid a strong foundation for the present-day Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Sadly, he passed away on Oct. 20, 2024, at the age of 83″.
Abaribe noted that the motion was supported by all the Senators from the South-East, as well as Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Abba Moro, PDP, Benue South; Senator Ned Nwoko, APC-Delta and Senator Adamu Aliero, PDP Kebbi Central, among others. He then urged the Senate to immortalise the late Nwosu by naming the INEC headquarters after him and to posthumously honour him with a national award. According to Abaribe, Humphrey Nwosu deserved to be immortalized like other heroes of the June 12 , 1993 Presidential Election, just as he also asked the Federal Government to honour the late electoral umpire with a posthumous National Honours.
Abaribe’s request was however rejected by other Senators who said the deceased did not deserve to be immortalized.
During contributions on the motion, some Senators supported it while others kicked against it. Supporting the motion to immortalize Nwosu, Senator Osita Izunaso , APC, Imo West said: “it is important that we will not sit here to distort history. We are legislators, and we are representing the people. Get across to Nigerians and ask them what they think about Prof. Nwosu, they will tell you he was a hero. So for us to sit here now and begin to distort history is not fair for our democracy”.
Kicking against the move to immortalize the former NEC boss, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, APC, Edo North noted that the motion to him, was nothing but an attempt to manipulate and rewrite history. He said, “Professor Humphrey Nwosu as NEC Chairman in 1993, failed to deliver on the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election for lack of courage.
He was not ready to die for something, will die for nothing. If he was afraid of the gun from announcing the election results and winner in 1993, he cannot be rewarded now, more so, when many Nigerians died for what he inadvertently created.
It was also gathered that the Senate did not accept to immortalize Nwosu because he would be seen as heading the best electoral umpire in the country and therefore rubbish the work of the present INEC led by Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who conducted flawed elections in the country which have been generally condemned by the generality of Nigerians. “Honouring Nwosu would mean rubbishing the 2023 elections which some benefitted from and still defend as a huge success,” one Senator confirmed to us, adding “ Rejecting Nwosu was political, not that they didn’t know he deserved it.”
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