KEY POINTS
- Professor Humphrey Nwosu, former NEC Chairman who presided over the June 12, 1993 elections, has died in a U.S. hospital.
- Nwosu was NEC Chairman from 1989 – 1993 when Moshood Abiola won the historic election.
- It considers the June 12, 1993 election, the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history, but the military regime annulled it.
Nigeria’s pivotal June 12, 1993 election was overseen by Professor Humphrey Nwosu, who has died in an American hospital, aged 70.
Born on October 2, 1941, Nwosu lived long enough and made a huge contribution to Nigeria’s democratic history.
Nigeria’s democratic history: the role of Professor Nwosu
Nwosu was NEC Chairman in 1989 -1993 under General Ibrahim Babangida military presidency. Furthermore he is perhaps best known for his tenure for carrying out the election of June 12, 1993 that remains the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history.
An election was on the verge of installing a democratic transition with Social Democratic Party (SDP) chief Moshood Abiola as the expected victor.
From the legacy of the June 12 election in Nigeria and well beyond.
The country’s new democracy, however was immediately annulled by the military regime originating national outrage and a long lasting struggle for democracy in Nigeria.
June 12 is now a symbol of the country’s fight for democratic governance and Nwosu’s role in the oversight of this election will forever be a corner stone of his political legacy.
According to Vanguard, It is still expected that an official statement regarding his death will be released.
