Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has approved the commuttal of six convicts on death row to life imprisonment and also released 40 inmates to commemorate the 2022 Democracy Day.

The governor gave the pronouncement, yesterday, while speaking at the June 12 anniversary and Democracy Day, held at the M.K.O. International Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He said that the commuttal to life imprisonment and release of the convicted inmates were in accordance with the provisions of Sections 212 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended) and Sections 4 and 5 of the Ogun State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy (Establishment Law), Laws of Ogun State 2006.

Abiodun, who urged Nigerians to draw strength from the 1993 general elections and make the 2023 exercise even better, equally advocated stringent punishment for violators of due process in elections, adding that people’s ballots must count and be respected.

The governor noted that the struggles of June 12 as orchestrated by Abiola gave birth to the seamless democracy Nigeria has enjoyed in the last 29 years, stressing that “only by upholding the tenets of democracy and ensuring its sustainability that we can truly honour the memory of those ideals that Abiola and others stood and died for.”

He urged political leaders and followers to keep hope and fair play alive in democracy and ensure that democracy in Nigeria becomes a means to an end, and not an end in itself.

Abiodun further charged Nigerians to internalise democratic values and tenets of the late MKO Abiola and other heroes and heroines on democratic principles and practices.

He, however, assured that his administration would continue to deliver on its electoral promises and fulfill the dreams of Ogun State founding fathers.