Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has extolled the late chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof Humphrey Nwosu, describing him as an exceptional electoral umpire who was ready to die for democracy.
Nwosu died on Thursday in a hospital in Virginia, United States aged 83.
In a tribute on Saturday to Nwosu, Obi said he was a principled academic who brought to bear in his job the principle he taught in the classroom as a political scientist.
Obi said, “I have just received the sad news of the death of the former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, NEC, Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
“Prof Nwosu was a true Democrat, an outstanding academician whose love for democracy and its values was copiously demonstrated in the way and manner he carried out his responsibilities as an electoral umpire between 1989 to 1993.
“His courageous defense of democratic principles, even under a non-democratic government, put him out as a man who was ready even to sacrifice his life for the sake of democracy and good governance.
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“For his pivotal role in holding and upholding the 1993 presidential elections, Prof Nwosu’s name will remain indelible in the history of Nigerian democracy. He stood for the truth In Nigeria for standing for the truth and the best tenets of democracy when it was delicate and even dangerous to do so.
“It’s, however, disheartening to note that what Prof Nwosu did when the nation’s electoral commission was not even legally independent and when billions of taxpayers’ money were not deployed as it is today with an accompanying updated technology could not be repeated in contemporary times in a supposed full democratic system.
“As an academic, Prof Nwosu brought to bear all the principles he taught in the classroom as an erudite professor of Political Science, unlike these days when professors are procured to aid electoral malpractices, including announcing results of elections they did not verify.
“For the new Nigeria we desire, the country needs more of Professor Nwosu, who will risk their lives for democracy.
“I pray God to forgive his shortcomings while on earth, grant his soul eternal repose, and his family and all lovers of democracy who mourn him the gratitude to bear the huge loss.
“May God Almighty grant Nigeria the likes of Professor Humphrey Nwosu in her future elections. A new Nigeria is indeed POssible.”
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