Tempers flared in the Senate on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, following a motion to honour the late Professor Humphrey Nwosu, former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), who oversaw the historic June 12, 1993, presidential election.
The controversy began when Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe proposed a motion under personal explanation to immortalize Nwosu, but he faced resistance. “Even if the Senate leader says that it doesn’t follow, the fact that a senator wants to make a personal explanation means you must give that senator a chance to speak. We are not under a dictatorship,” Abaribe argued.
Professor Nwosu, who led the NEC from 1989 to 1993, passed away at the age of 83 on March 1, 2024, while in a hospital in the United States. His tenure was notable for his role in organizing the June 12, 1993, presidential election, widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s freest and fairest elections before it was annulled.
Recently, the current INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, called for a posthumous national honour for Nwosu to recognize his contributions to Nigeria’s electoral system.
Professor Nwosu will be laid to rest on Friday, March 28, in his hometown in Anambra State.
