Tinubu honours Humphrey Nwosu — weeks after senate rejected motion to immortalise him

President Bola Tinubu has conferred the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on Humphrey Nwosu, the late former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC).

On March 27, the senate rejected a motion to immortalise Nwosu by naming the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja after him.

The motion, sponsored by Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia south, was stalled prompting the south-east caucus to walk out of the chamber.

Tinubu announced the national honour on Thursday during his address at a joint session of the national assembly to mark the 2025 Democracy Day.

While acknowledging the role of the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola as June 12’s central figure, Tinubu said Nigerians must not forget the long list of those who equally deserve to be called heroes of the country’s democracy.

“The struggle was never the province of any one group or section of the country, it was pan-Nigerian in its conception and will be even more pan-Nigerian as we strive to perfect it,” the president said.

Nwosu, who was appointed by former military President Ibrahim Babangida, presided over the historic 1993 election believed to have been won by Abiola.

The election was later annulled by the military, plunging the country into political turmoil and years of pro-democracy struggle.

In 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari recognised Abiola as the winner of the election and declared June 12 as Democracy Day.