Former Electoral Commission Chair, Humphrey Nwosu, Dies at 83

Goddy Egene

A former Chairman of the National Election Commission (now the Independent National Electoral Commission), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu has died at  the age of 83. Born on October 2, 1941, Nwosu died in a hospital in Virginia, United States  of America (USA).

He was appointed by the then military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, and oversaw the June 12, 1993 election, widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest. He served as Chairman of NEC from 1989 to 1993. He hailed from the Ajali community in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Although no official statement has been released by the family,  a souce said: “Yes, Prof died this(yesterday) morning in a hospital in Virginia, USA, after a brief illness. The family will soon issue a statement on it.”

He presided over the June 12, 1993 election, widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest.

 Chief Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party defeated Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention.

But  the subsequent annulment of the election plunged the country into political turmoil and prolonged military rule until Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.

Reacting to the news  of Nwosu’s death, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, lamented that the deceased died without being celebrated by the country, despite his significant contributions to Nigeria’s electoral system.

The acting National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Damian Ogene, who reacted on behalf of the body, pointed out that while the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the late MKO Abiola, was remembered and immortalised, the late Humphrey Nwosu was never honoured.

He said: “Until his death, no one, including the federal government, recognised this man, despite the fact that he put his life on the line to save the country’s democracy.

“Late Humphrey Nwosu was my brother; we belong to the same Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State and as a matter of fact, he is my kinsman. It is sad that successive administrations in the country never acknowledged him, not even by naming a federal institution after him.

“There are others in his position who might have compromised, but he stood his ground and ensured that the electoral wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian masses were realized.

“The neglect of late Humphrey Nwosu until his death is indicative of the fact that the Nigerian civil war has not truly ended. If Nwosu had been from another tribe, he would have been celebrated.”

He suggested that a National Institute for Political Studies should be established and named after him in recognition of his great contributions to shaping the democracy and politics of the country.

“Late Humphrey Nwosu should have a National Institute for Political Studies named after him and a yearly lecture series should be organised in his name,” he added.

Earlier in June, the House of Representatives called on the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to immortalise Nwosu for his role in conducting the June 12 election, considered the most credible in Nigeria’s post-independence history.