Democracy Day moved to 12th June from 2019

by Public Holiday News

Abuja, Jun 6th 2018

On Wednesday night, President Buhari used his Twitter account to announce an unexpected change to Democracy Day.

Since 2000, Nigeria has been celebrating 29 May as Democracy Day. With the election of General Olusegun Obasanjo as President, 29 May 199 was the second time in Nigeria's history that an elected civilian administration was restored after the rule of a military junta. The first time this happened was on 21 October 1979.

The President announced that henceforth Democracy Day would change to 12 June to commemorate the annulled general election of 12 June 1993.

12 June 1993 many millions of Nigerians expressed their democratic will in a general election. The election was presumed to have been won in a landslide by the standard bearer of the Social Democratic Party, MKO Abiola, who contested against Maman Tofa of the National Republican Convention.

Despite foreign observers generally describing the elections as free and fair, the then Military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida annulled the elections,citing some irregularities.

In recent years, several states have declared 12 June as a public holiday to commemorate the annulled election.

The announcement initially caused some speculation that 12 June 2018 would be a public holiday, but on reading the statement, it is quite clear that the new date for Democracy Day will only take effect from 12 June 2019.

In the statement, Buhari said:

‘For the past 18 years, Nigerians have been celebrating May 29th, as Democracy Day. That was the date when for the second time in our history, an elected civilian administration took over from a military government. The first time this happened was on October 1st, 1979.

‘But in the view of Nigerians, as shared by this Administration, June 12th, 1993, was far more symbolic of Democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29th or even the October 1st. ‘June 12th, 1993 was the day when Nigerians in millions expressed their democratic will in what was undisputedly the freest, fairest and most peaceful elections since our Independence. The fact that the outcome of that election was not upheld by the then military Government does not distract from the democratic credentials of that process.

‘Accordingly, after due consultations, the Federal Government has decided that henceforth, June 12th will be celebrated as Democracy Day. Therefore, Government has decided to award posthumously the highest honour of the land, GCFR, to late Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12th 1993 cancelled elections.

‘His running mate as Vice President, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, is also to be invested with a GCON. Furthermore, the tireless fighter for human rights and the actualisation of the June 12th election and indeed for Democracy in general, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN is to be awarded posthumously a GCON.

‘The commemoration and investiture will take place on Tuesday June 12, 2018, a date which in future years will replace May 29th as a National Public Holiday in celebration of Nigeria Democracy Day.’

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