The National Assembly has showered encomium on President Bola Tinubu on the occasion of the Democracy Day celebration on June 12.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, in his welcome address to Tinubu during a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday, praised the President as one of the architects of Nigeria’s democracy.
“The National Assembly is proud to host you, our President, our compatriot, and one of our own, as you fulfil the solemn constitutional duty of addressing the nation. This chamber honours you not merely as the President, but as one of the architects of the very democratic foundation we commemorate today.
“Today, we gather not to mourn injustice, but to honour resilience. We observe not the triumph of politicians, but the enduring faith of the Nigerian people in a democracy — a faith that survived betrayal, braved teargas, defied armoured tanks, endured silence, and still chose the ballot over the bullet,” Akpabio said.
Going down memory lane, Akpabio hailed Nigerians for their resilience in standing for democratic rule in the face of brutality.
“On June 12, 1993, the torch of the long march to freedom was lit. Nigerians stood up to say, ‘Our voice matters. Our vote counts.’”
Akpabio said, however, that the light was extinguished on June 12, 1993, when a terse statement declared that the will of the Nigerian people, freely expressed in the historic June 12 Presidential Election, had been annulled.
“Tears, rage, and hope poured into the streets. Nigeria did not just lose an election; she lost her innocence. And across the country, the silence of shock was broken by the roar of resistance. The people rose. Angry students marched.
“The intro of Chief Moshood Abiola’s campaign song captured the spirit of that day: ‘Nigeria on the march again.’ Indeed, Nigeria was on the march towards democracy. But that cruel announcement turned the march for democracy into a march for justice,” he added.