Tinubu Cancels Democracy Day Broadcast, To Address Nigerians At NASS

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled his planned national broadcast scheduled for 7 a.m. on June 12, Democracy Day. The decision follows his commitment to attend a joint session of the National Assembly on the same day.

The cancellation was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Information and Public Relations, Segun Imohiosen.

“Due to H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, scheduled attendance at the National Assembly Joint Session, the Presidential National Broadcast on June 12 has been cancelled,” the statement said.

Tinubu is now expected to deliver his Democracy Day address from the National Assembly. The statement added: “President Bola Ahmed will deliver his address from the National Assembly. All other plans are in order as announced earlier.”

Initially, the President was billed to address Nigerians at 7 a.m. before proceeding to the National Assembly complex for the joint session. According to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Democracy Day, Tinubu will speak at the joint session at noon. This was disclosed in a statement signed by Abdulhakeem Adeoye on behalf of the committee’s director of information.

The committee also confirmed that no parade will hold as part of the celebration. Instead, a public lecture themed “Consolidating on the Gains of Nigeria’s Democracy: Necessity of Enduring Reforms” will take place at 4 p.m. at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

This year marks 26 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria, following the end of military rule in 1999. Democracy Day, formerly celebrated on May 29—the swearing-in day for elected officials—was shifted to June 12 in 2018 by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari to honour the annulled 1993 election, believed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola.

Meanwhile, concerns over Nigeria’s democratic health persist. Dele Momodu, a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), warned on Channels Television that the nation is drifting towards 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 during The Morning Brief programme.