INCOMPARABLE! Why EKITI JUNE 21 can not be compared to 1993, JUNE 12 Election – Kokori

Human rights activist, Chief Frank Kokori, has lauded the recently concluded Ekiti State Governorship election but adds that the election is nothing compared to the June 12, 1993 election which remains the most credible election in Nigerian history.

EKITI

Kokori, who was the Secretary General of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers in 1993, said this during the launch of his book titled, ‘Frank Kokori: The Struggle for June 12’ in Lagos State on Wednesday.
Kokori, who was incarcerated for protesting the annulment of the 1993 election by General Ibrahim Babangida, said the June 12 election was a better template for the 2015 general elections than the June 21 Ekiti election.
He said, “I am an advocate of free and fair elections no matter whose ox is gored. The Ekiti election is a good development in relation to what has been happening in the country. There may be some flaws here and there but comparatively, I think it is ok in terms of transparency especially when the loser has congratulated the winner.
“But June 12 was a presidential election and you can’t compare it to what happened in 16 local governments in Ekiti. We are talking of 774 local governments so let us not compare. The national elections will be in 36 states. A presidential election in all the wards in the country is a different ball game. What happened in Ekiti election is that the government brought the whole Nigerian security, all the monitoring human right groups and journalists. You can’t have that across the country.
“When elections are not free and fair, the people will always revolt. But when an election is 80 per cent transparent, people will accept it. We have never scored 100 per cent in any election. The best is June 21, which I give 95 per cent score. Ekiti, I give 65 per cent.”
Kokori also lamented the security situation in the country adding that President Goodluck Jonathan was not doing enough to protect lives and property.
Also speaking at the event former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, said there was no better person to tell the story of June 12 than Kokori, whom he called one of the architects of the current democracy, having suffered detention and making little effort to profit from the success of democracy.
“It is sad that some of those who did not lift a finger for the attainment of Nigerian democracy are now in charge of the nation’s affairs,” Atiku said, through his representative Mr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo.