APC national leader, Chief Bola Tinubu has described the late business mogul and the winner of the June 12 1993 general election as a great man who paid the ultimate price and shed his blood to water the root of the present Democratic experiment the nation benefits from today. In his goodwill message to mark the 24th year anniversary of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 poll adjudged to be the freest and fairest election in the history of Nigeria, Tinubu said, ” the blood of those who gave their yesterday and sacrificed even their lives for Democracy and freedom we enjoy today was not shed in vain. The truth is June 12 is the mother of May 29th.”

Tinubu maintained that was it not for the uncompromising resistance to military rule which occurred as a follow up to the annulment of the June 12th election, there would probably not be the 4th Republic today and we would still be groaning the jackboots of autocratic dictators. MKO Abiola, Tinubu said, committed himself, his resources and his being selflessly to ensure his victory, thus the annulment was a bitter pill to swallow not only for the winner of the mandate but for the millions of people who expended so much time, energy and material resources to help ensure the victory of Chief Moshood Abiola.

Asiwaju Tinubu praised the late Aare OnaKakanfo, Chief Abiola for refusing to sacrifice honour for an ephemeral mess of pottage, adding that Abiola could have chosen to abandon the mandate for other pecuniary offer from the junta to rebuild his disrupted business, but like a typical Omoluabi, he chose the moral high ground and fought for his mandate until death.

The former Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Tinubu reiterated the fact that even in death Abiola remained an embodiment of value and integrity, unlike his detractors, who though alive, but have lost what remained of their tattered integrity.