Honour For Abiola: It’s Hypocrisy, PDP; A joke, Omokri For 2019 General Election

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Reno Omokri, a former aide to the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, have respectively described the posthumous award conferred on Late Chief MKO Abiola and the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day by President Muhammadu Buhari, as act of desperation and joke ahead of 2019 General election.

The PDP which reacted to the award announcement through its  National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, said it amounted to hypocrisy for a man who never identified with Abiola and the family during the military era when Buhari was in service also under Late Sani Abacha who detained Abiola.

Ologbodiyan said: “It is therefore a sign of political desperation for President Buhari to seek to use Chief Abiola’s name as a tool to sway Nigerians in less than twelve months to an election where he, (President Buhari) is seeking a second term.

“It is also shocking that the respectable grave of Abiola can be dishonoured by granting a posthumous award on him along with someone who denounced the June 12 mandate and preferred the company of his (Abiola’s) traducers.

“Even those who now masquerade as change agents were opposed to the naming of University of Lagos after Chief Abiola.

“If President Buhari genuinely wants to honour Chief Abiola, he should do so by ending all anti-democratic proclivities of his administration and allow for the rule of law and respect for our constitution.

“The PDP therefore urges President Buhari to shed his desperate actions in his quest to win the 2019 presidential election as Nigerians can no longer be deceived by such antics,” he said.

On his part, Omokiri who called Buhari’s declaration on June a joke also stressed that it is unbelievable that the President [Buhari] only considered late MKO Abiola for a national title after publicly praising his jailer, late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha.

His words: “In desperation for the Southwest vote, he has declared June 12, Democracy Day a d given MKO Abiola a post humous GCFR. What hypocrisy! This was a man who served Abacha while Abacha jailed Abiola. This was a man who praised Abacha, Abiola’s jailer!”