Former leader of National Democratic Coalition, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, has asked the Federal Government to declare June 12 as Democracy Day in Nigeria.
Onitiri, who said the celebration of May 29 as Democracy Day instead of June 12 was an aberration, made the call at a news conference in Lagos on Monday.
He said, "June 12 is about democracy. We fought with our lives and blood to achieve democracy in Nigeria.
"I went to court to ensure that June 12 election was held. It was the judgment I got that made it possible for the election to hold. People seem to play that down. Unfortunately, the military boys hijacked the political structures.
"Even at that, we forced the military junta then to step aside. The adoption of May 29 as Democracy Day is wrong. June 12 must be celebrated as the Democracy Day in Nigeria. That day, we had the freest, fairest and most credible election in Nigeria. The voting was detribalised and our votes counted."
Onitiri called for the declaration of the winner of the election, the late MKO Abiola, as the martyr of democracy.
He lamented that Nigerians, particularly those in government, had not learnt anything from June 12.
Onitiri said, "It is still the military apologists that are in power. Except we go back to the nitty-gritty, hold a sovereign national conference and redefine those who will rule us, corruption will continue to characterise every facet of our national life and dividends of democracy will be elusive."
