June12: Ex-LG boss pleads for unfreezing of MKO’s accounts, payment of reparation

A former Chairman of the Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Mr Ayodele Adewale, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to unfreeze the bank accounts of the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola frozen during the military regime of the late military dictator, Gen Sani Abacha.

Adewale, who applauded Buhari for the posthumous national award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic conferred on MKO as the winner of the 1993 presidential election and the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day, also sought compensation for the deceased’s family.
He further urged the Federal Government to recognise the families of some unsung heroes who died in the struggle for the actualisation of June 12.
Adewale, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, argued that the need for reparation became imperative to enable the family to resuscitate the dilapidated companies of the late businessman after the Federal Government seized the firms.
He said, “We are also looking at the government paying reparation to the Abiola family just as they did to the Biafran soldiers and the staff of the defunct Nigeria Airways. We believe that President Buhari can also help to unfrozen all Abiola’s accounts frozen by Abacha. This will help the family a lot.
“Again, the closure of the Concord Press led to job losses and many journalists left without being paid. If the government can accede to the requests, they would be able to pay all the workers of the different companies that became redundant after their closure by the then military government.
“The details of Abiola’s frozen accounts are with the Department of State Services, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Directorate of Military Intelligence. Abiola’s seized properties are also verifiable. They are all over Nigeria.”
Also, Abdulmumuni Abiola, one of the sons of the late MKO Abiola, called on the President to address the problem of poverty in the land, which his father had plans to continue to fight before he was incarcerated.
He said, “It is all well and good that we are celebrating the sacrifice. My father’s dream was to provide solutions to the myriad problems the country faced at the time. We also want President Buhari to urgently address the issue of poverty and health care, which was part of Abiola’s development plan. It will go a long way in strengthening our democracy.”