The Nigerian Senate is working on a bill to make presidential addresses on June 12 a constitutional tradition, in honour of the day’s democratic legacy.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele revealed the plan on Tuesday, June 10, during a chat with reporters. He said the Senate hopes to table a bill that would formalise the President’s annual address on June 12, which has been marked as Democracy Day since 2018.
“We are hoping to bring a bill soon to institutionalise the President’s address on June 12 because of its historical importance.
“There can’t be a better time to address the nation through the parliament than on June 12, especially since it is a joint sitting of the National Assembly,” he said.
Bamidele also disclosed that the proposed bill would seek to establish the National Assembly Complex as the venue for future presidential inaugurations.
“We are hoping, in that bill, to ensure that the swearing-in ceremony of the next President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria, whom we believe is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will be held within the arcade of the National Assembly,” he added.
On budget matters, the Senate leader noted that lawmakers are considering an extension of the capital expenditure component of the 2024 budget to ensure fuller implementation.
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“We have to sit and assess the full implementation of the 2024 budget. We will further extend the capital expenditure timeline while ensuring that the 2025 budget is fully implemented,” Bamidele stated.
He also gave an update on the ongoing constitutional review process. As Vice Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, he admitted the process had been slow, but said most of the work was nearly completed.
“We’ve done almost 70 percent of the work before going public. Before the end of the third legislative year, we intend to complete the constitutional amendment process,” he said, adding that zonal public hearings would be held before a joint public session with the House of Representatives.
June 12 holds a deep symbolic meaning in Nigeria’s democratic journey. It marks the annulled 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as the freest and fairest in the country’s history, and believed to have been won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola.
The annulment by then military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, triggered widespread unrest and remains a sore point in Nigeria’s political memory.
In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari officially moved Democracy Day from May 29 to June 12 to honour Abiola and reaffirm the democratic ideals he stood for.
In a surprising admission, Babangida confirmed in his February 2025 memoir that MKO Abiola did, in fact, win the 1993 election.