Let's Talk About the Nigerian Senate's Proposed Bill!
Lawmakers Contemplate Legislature for Yearly Presidential Speeches on June 12, with Possible Venue Change for Inauguration
Got some hot goss from our website! They're reporting that our boy, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, has been spillin' the tea about a legislative proposal up for consideration.This badboy, if passed, would shake things up real good!
Here's the skinny: Bamidele announced on Tuesday that the Senate's got this bill brewin' to instill June 12 as a mandatory day for the President's annual address, a.k.a. the Democracy Day speech. He thinks it's got some historical significance, and he ain't wrong.
June 12, you ask? Well, it's a date that's got some committee about this nation's democratic struggle. It's the one that marks the annulled 1993 presidential election that everyone (and their grandma) believe was won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. The election cancellation back then set off some serious protests, and many see it as the start of Nigeria's transition to civilian rule.
The Bill's got more tricks up its sleeve, too! There's a plan to relocate the presidential swearing-in ceremony from Eagle Square to the National Assembly Complex. Now that's a move that could change Nigeria's democratic rituals. Bamidele said it himself: "We're hoping, in that bill, to ensure that the swearing-in ceremony of the next President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria will be held here, right within the arcade of the National Assembly!"
But that ain't all! The same bill is expected to tackle fiscal matters and extend the capital expenditure component of the 2024 national budget. Bamidele also gave us some updates on ongoing constitutional amendments. He's confident that they'll nail this constitutional amendment process before the end of the third legislative year.
So there you have it, folks! The Senate's cookin' up some major changes, and it looks like June 12's about to become a pretty important date on the calendar. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story!
Did You Know?
- In 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari officially declared June 12 as Nigeria's Democracy Day, replacing May 29.
- In his February 2023 memoir, former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida admitted for the first time that Abiola won the 1993 election.
- The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, revealed that a bill currently under consideration in the Nigerian Senate aims to establish June 12 as the annual date for the President's Democracy Day speech, honoring the historical significance of the date in Nigeria's democratic struggle.
- If passed, this bill would see the presidential swearing-in ceremony relocated from Eagle Square to the National Assembly Complex, potentially altering the country's democratic rituals.
- Apart from the relocation of the presidential swearing-in ceremony, the bill also includes provisions for addressing fiscal matters and extending the capital expenditure component of the 2024 national budget.
- Notably, the bill is expected to tackle ongoing constitutional amendments, with Senate Leader Bamidele optimistic that they will finalize the process before the end of the third legislative year.
- It's worth mentioning that, in 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari declared June 12 as Nigeria's Democracy Day, replacing May 29; meanwhile, former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida admitted in his 2023 memoir that MKO Abiola, whose annulled 1993 presidential election is associated with June 12, had won the election.
