Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari for declaring June 12 Nigeria’s Democracy Day and conferring the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) honour on Moshood Abiola posthumously.
Abiola is widely acclaimed to have won the June 12, 1993 presidential election adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of Nigeria.
The election was annulled by former military ruler, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, and Abiola died in prison while fighting to claim his mandate.
Buhari’s recognition of June 12 and Abiola came 25 years after the election.
Fani-Kayode had in a tweet on Wednesday commended Buhari for the gesture which he said was long overdue.
I commend @MBuhari for announcing June 12th as our new Democracy Day. This is long overdue and I am pleasantly surprised.I also commend him for honoring Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of the June 12th 1993 presidential election, with the posthumus award of GCON.This is great news!
— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) June 6, 2018
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, however, returned to Twitter on Friday in his usual combative manner.
This time, he described Buhari’s action as a “classic case of a cunning, self-seeking, self-serving and evil man doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.
The award of GCFR to MKO Abiola by @MBuhari and the declaration of June 12th as Democracy Day is a classic case of a cunning, self-seeking, self-serving and evil man doing the RIGHT thing for the WRONG reasons. If you really want to win our hearts beg for forgiveness and resign!
— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) June 8, 2018
He echoes the words on a statement released by PDP on Wednesday that the President’s action smacks of hypocrisy and political desperation ahead of 2019 presidential election.
The statement signed by its PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, declared that Buhari merely sought to use the name and person of Abiola to gain a political capital and not out of genuine reverence and recognition for him.
The party said that President Buhari, who was serving in the military administration of General Sani Abacha during the travails of Abiola, did not associate either by words or actions with the late winner of June 12 election.
It further stated that history did not record President Buhari as sympathetic to the Abiola’s family when his wife, Kudirat, was gruesomely murdered by the agents of a government which President Buhari served.
