June 12 Poll Umpire, Humphrey Nwosu Bids World Farewell

In this piece, Adedayo Akinwale takes a look at the life and times of the late former Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, Prof Humphrey Nwosu, who conducted the most free, fair and transparent presidential poll on June 12, 1993 in the political history of Nigeria, which was annulled by military President, General Ibrahim Babangida.

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, news filtered in from the United States of America that the former Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof Humphrey Nwosu has passed on at the age of 84.

Nwosu, born on 2 October 1941 became a professor of political science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He served in the cabinet of Air Commodore Samson Omeruah, then military governor of the old Anambra State, where he helped traditional rulers to gain staffs of office, receive salaries and settled intra and inter community land disputes.

The late political scientist also served as chairman of a Federal Technical Committee on the application of Civil Service Reforms in the local government service.

Nwosu was appointed Chairman of NEC, which is now known as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1989 after his predecessor (and former mentor), Prof Eme Awa resigned due to a disagreement with the former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida.

While on the job, Nwosu conducted the 12 June 1993 presidential election which was the most free and transparent election till date in which Chief Moshood Abiola was presumed to have won.

The 1993 elections were the first since the 1983 military coup ended the country’s Second Republic. The elections were the outcome of a transitional process to civilian rule spearheaded by Babangida.

Nwosu’s NEC introduced the Option A4 voting system and the Open ballot system. Nwosu had released many of the June 12, 1993 election results when he was ordered to stop further announcement by the military regime.

The unofficial result of the election – though not declared by the electoral commission – indicated a victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who defeated Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC).

Nevertheless, the annulment led to protests and political unrest, including the resignation of Babangida and an interim civilian government headed by late Chief Ernest Shonekan, which culminated in the continuation of military rule in the country with Sani Abacha ascending to power as  military Head of state via a bloodless coup.

Nwosu in an interview granted in 2019 said his inability to declare the winner was most challenging for him.

He said: “The inability to declare the winner of the June 12 presidential election was the most challenging task for me. There were a series of obstacles against the election. There was a court ruling on June 10, 1993, at 9:30 pm that there should not be an election. There wouldn’t have been an election following that court decision.

“I felt it was not in order and Nigerians would not be happy because we had successfully conducted the governorship elections with Option A4 in December 1991. In 1992, we conducted the National Assembly election and June 12 was the last election to establish the Third Republic.

“I tried to reach out to the President, Vice President and Attorney General of the Federation, but it was not successful. I later met the AGF, who told me that the Supreme Military Council would meet at 10 am on June 11 but I was not invited as the Chief Electoral Officer of the country,” he said.

Nwosu stated that he, however, decided to attend the meeting uninvited regardless of the risks involved.

He added: “Those who blamed me for not announcing the final official results do not know that, without me, there couldn’t have been June 12 election.

“I called the Director of Legal Service of NEC, who asked if I was invited and I said no. When we got to the gate of the Villa, they thought I was invited and allowed us to go in. That was the reason I said that God made June 12 possible.

“I arrived before the AGF and they were surprised to see me. President Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, and others were there. They asked why I came and I replied that the next day would be June 12. They asked if I was not aware of the court order, I said it cannot prevent us from holding the election.

“When the President asked why, I reminded him that he had once asked a former AGF, Justice Bola Ajibola, and I to find a solution to the spate of court injunctions that would have derailed the transition to civil rule programme.

“We came up with a solution that once a date has been fixed for an election, no court should stop us. But he said it had been challenged and upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal in Ibadan. I said that Abuja High Court cannot stop us. At that point, the AGF walked in saying I should obey the law. There was an argument which I challenged,” the former NEC chairman revealed.

“Abacha interjected,” he continued. “I explained it in details in my book, Laying Foundation for Nigeria’s Democracy. I told Mr President to tell me to inform Nigerians if elections would not hold tomorrow, June 12, because I was ready to conduct the election, but there was total silence.

“Abacha interjected, saying we should postpone it for a week, but I told him that sensitive materials had been distributed across the country. President Babangida asked if I was sure I would succeed and I said yes.

“That is why I commend Babangida. The military was divided. Some wanted the election to take place while others didn’t want it and I felt that Abacha wanted to have a stint as President.

“Babangida said I should convene a press conference to inform international observers that the elections would hold. When the section of the military that didn’t want the election saw that it was successful with Abiola winning, there was another court decision to stop the announcement of the results.”

Giving an account of what transpired in 1993 in his book, ‘Laying the Foundation for Nigeria’s Democracy: My Account of June 12, 1993, Presidential Election’, Nwosu narrated how the military government prevented him from announcing the remaining results.

He added: “We met in General Sani Abacha’s guest house in Abuja. A sub-committee made up of the NEC Chairman, Brigadier General Akilu, and the Attorney General, Clement Akpamgbo, was set up. In attendance at the series of meetings we held to find a solution was the Secretary of the Commission, Alhaji Aliyu Umar, a National Commissioner, and Professor Felix Ideriah, who was also the Chief Returning Officer for the June 12, 1993, presidential election, and Mallam Buhari Bello, the Director of Legal Services of NEC.

“From our angle in NEC, there was nothing to discuss other than the successful conclusion of the election by declaring the winner. We returned to the guest house of General Sani Abacha, the venue of the committee’s meeting. I presented to the committee two options.

“I could hardly conclude the submission when General Sani Abacha shouted at me to stop. He uttered, `Who do you think you are? You conducted a presidential election the court prohibited. You helped to cause the current confusion without the support of the members of your commission.

Surprisingly, in 2018,  former President Muhammadu Buhari eventually declared the late MKO Abiola as the presumed winner of the poll, a gesture he took to lay the ghost of June 12 to rest.