The governor expressed the regret that 24 years after the election adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of the country, the ideals for which Abiola stood had yet to be realized.
While describing the late politician and business mogul as a symbol of democracy, he praised him for his strong conviction that ordinary Nigerians must be freed from the shackles of oppression and penury.
Ajimobi said, “It was this conviction that Nigerian masses should be freed from their oppressors and that the destiny of the whole nation should not be held to ransom by a cabal that propelled him to stand by his mandate and to defend it to the last.
“The democracy that we all are enjoying now was made possible by the likes of Chief Abiola, Chief Abraham Adesanya, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Chief Frank Kokori, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others too numerous to mention.
According to him, the only way to ensure that their sacrifice is not in vain is to promote and institutionalize good governance until poverty, injustice and insecurity are significantly reduced in Nigeria.
The governor said that Abiola’s ideal of good governance had always influenced his administration’s policies in its avowed commitment to the massive, pro-people infrastructural development of Oyo State.