President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has cancelled the scheduled Democracy Day national broadcast initially planned for 7 a.m. on June 12, citing his planned attendance at the National Assembly’s joint session later that day.
According to a statement released by Segun Imohiosen, Director of Information and Public Relations, the President will now deliver his Democracy Day address directly from the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
“Due to H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR’s scheduled attendance at the National Assembly Joint Session, the Presidential National Broadcast on June 12 has been cancelled. President Tinubu will deliver his address from the National Assembly. All other plans are in order as announced earlier,” the statement read.
The Democracy Day schedule, released by the Inter-Ministerial Committee and signed by Abdulhakeem Adeoye, includes a public lecture at the State House Conference Centre at 4 p.m. with the theme:
“Consolidating on the Gains of Nigeria’s Democracy: Necessity of Enduring Reforms.”
Notably, there will be no parade for the 2025 celebration.
This year’s event marks 26 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria since the end of military rule in 1999. Originally marked on May 29, Democracy Day was moved to June 12 in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, in honour of the annulled 1993 election believed to have been won by MKO Abiola.
The 2025 Democracy Day will be President Tinubu’s third since taking office in 2023, following a tightly contested election. His administration has promised electoral and constitutional reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
However, criticism of Nigeria’s democratic trajectory continues. Dele Momodu, a prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, in a Channels TV interview on Wednesday, cautioned that Nigeria was drifting toward civilian dictatorship.
“I’m very happy that today coincides with the lead-up to June 12 (Democracy Day), so that if we still have any iota of conscience left, we’ll realise we have damaged this democracy,” Momodu said on The Morning Brief.
According to a 9am News report, this year’s Democracy Day comes amid growing national introspection on governance, civil liberties, and the future of democratic institutions in Nigeria.
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