The refusal of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, to declare June 12 as a work-free day in commemoration of the annulment of the 1993 general elections, has drawn the ire of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu.
Akeredolu, in a statement on Saturday described the governor’s action as a “clear depiction of a mindset predisposed to working against the overall interest of the people of South-West.’
He, however, said the refusal of the government of Ondo State, to join the rest of the region to declare June 12 as a work-free day did not come as a surprise to many people.
“The significance of June 12 cannot be lost on any genuine democrat. The current civil rule is a direct consequence of the sacrifice of M.K.O Abiola,” he said.
He argued that no honour should be considered too much for the symbol of democracy in contemporary Nigeria.
The statement read, “Now that the governor has shown the people of the state that he is aligned with the oppressors in the land, the good people of the state will definitely take due notice of his perfidious act.
“June 12 is a symbol of Nigerians’ resistance to impunity. Many people paid dearly for choosing democracy over military rule. M.K.O Abiola paid the ultimate price. Any political office holder in the current dispensation who fails to appreciate the enormity of this sacrifice is an ingrate; and must be condemned by all right-thinking people of Ondo.”
However, Governor Mimiko on Saturday said the declaration of June 12 as public holiday should be a national issue.
Speaking through the Commissioner for information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, Mimiko said there was no point reducing the June 12 issue to a regional affair because Nigerians across the country freely voted for Abiola in 1993.
He said, “In Ondo State, our people observed that day in honour of Abiola who said no to injustice and oppression. The memories of M.K.O must not be obliterated from our collective psyche. He was indeed our hero.”
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