Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it is not too late to honour Humphrey Nwosu, the late chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC).
Yakubu spoke on Monday at the ‘Afternoon of Tributes’ event held for the late Nwosu at the INEC’s headquarters in Abuja.
Born on October 2, 1941, Nwosu died on October 24 in a hospital in Virginia, USA.
Yakubu said, “Nwosu’s four years as chairman of NEC (1989 to 1993) now define his public service career and even persona”.
He said that like all his six predecessors and seven successors to date, Nwosu had the arduous task of managing elections in an extremely challenging context.
“He introduced many innovations in election management. In physical terms, he laid the foundation for the independence of the commission by initiating the current three-layer structure for the commission with offices at national, state and local government levels,” the INEC chairman said.
“He also introduced a number of reforms to election management. His tenure is synonymous with the open ballot system popularly referred to as option A4, in which voters queued up behind the symbol of the party of their choice to vote and to be physically counted.”
Yakubu said Nwosu did his best, which was not always appreciated by many, noting that with the passage of time, the outcome of his effort is now widely appreciated.
He said the 1993 election, which ended in annulment, is now celebrated as one of the best in Nigeria.
“A quarter of a century (25 years) later in June 2018, the presumed winner of the 1993 Presidential election, Chief M. K. O. Abiola, received the highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), posthumously,” he said.
“His running mate, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, was conferred with the second highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
“The date of the election (June 12th, 1993) has been gazetted as a national holiday and appropriately named as Democracy Day.
“Sadly, the electoral commission that conducted the election which was personified by Professor Nwosu received only a muffled commendation as if no one conducted the election.
“Surely, the election did not conduct itself. It was organised by a commission made up of commissioners and a chairman. If it was an oversight that Professor Nwosu was not honoured in his lifetime, it is never too late for the appropriate authority to do so posthumously.”
