The National Assembly has officially designated June 12 as the day for the President of Nigeria to address a joint session of the legislature.
This decision was made on Thursday during a special Democracy Day sitting at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, where President Bola Tinubu delivered a commemorative address to lawmakers.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, presiding over the joint session, announced the formalisation of the date after a motion was raised by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
“Mr President, in the eloquent speech by the Honourable Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, he raised a motion that June 12 should be formalised as the Presidential Day of Address to the joint session of the National Assembly. I hereby put the question,” Akpabio stated, prompting responses from the floor.
“Those in support of the motion, moved and seconded, say ‘Aye’; those against say ‘Nay’. The ‘Ayes’ have it,” he ruled.
Addressing President Tinubu, Akpabio further remarked, “Mr President, that is the motion of the National Assembly, done in your presence. Mr Speaker, the statistics do not lie—we are quite happy with the data you rolled out and the House that we all run.”
Earlier, on June 10, the Senate had hinted at plans to institutionalise the annual presidential address on June 12, citing its historic significance.
Speaking to journalists, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele confirmed the development, stating, “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 added that the proposed legislation would also aim to establish the National Assembly Complex as the official venue for future presidential swearing-in ceremonies.
“In that bill, we are hoping to ensure that the swearing-in ceremony of the next President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria—whom we believe will be President Bola Ahmed Tinubu—will be held within the arcade of the National Assembly,” he said.
During his Democracy Day address, President Tinubu conferred national honours on several prominent Nigerians, including the late Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola. Others honoured included the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Professor Humphrey Nwosu, and the late former Vice President, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.
June 12 holds a pivotal place in Nigeria’s political history following the annulment of the 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as the freest and fairest in the country’s history. MKO Abiola, the presumed winner, saw his victory annulled by then-military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida, sparking nationwide protests and unrest.
In 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari officially declared June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day, replacing May 29, as a posthumous recognition of Abiola’s democratic legacy.
In a significant revelation, Babangida, in his February 2025 memoir, acknowledged for the first time that Abiola had indeed won the 1993 election. This admission elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians.
The formal adoption of June 12 as the annual day of the presidential address further underscores the government’s commitment to honoring Nigeria’s democratic evolution and the sacrifices of those who championed it.