Senate Moves To Institutionalise June 12 Presidential Address 

The Senate has said that plans are on top gear to institutionalise June 12 Presidential address in recognition of the day’s historical significance.

The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking with Journalists on preparations to mark this year’s Democracy Day.

He said that the Senate was working towards preparing a bill to formalize the President’s speech to the nation on that date.

The legislation will afford the President the opportunity to deliver the ‘State of the Nation Address’ in the National Assembly on June 12 annually.

Bamidele said, “We are hoping to bring a bill soon to institutionalize 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’.

The Senate Leader further revealed that the proposed legislation would also seek to designate the National Assembly complex as the venue for future presidential swearing-in ceremonies of Presidents-elect.

‘‘We are hoping, in that bill, to ensure that the swearing-in ceremony of the next President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria, whom we believe is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will hold within the arcade of the National Assembly,” he said.

Bamidele said that the legislation was part of efforts to strengthen the country’s democracy.

Bamidele said: “It is our desire to institutionalise the State of the Nation Address. We will bring a bill to address it, to ensure that it is institutionalised. People should look forward to it.

“President Tinubu is working with the National Assembly in that regard. June 12 will be a better time for the President to address the nation through the National Assembly.

“There is no better day than June 12 for the President to address the nation, because of its historical significance. It is a joint sitting of the National Assembly. Nigerians should look forward to this legislative initiative.

“We are also hoping to change our political setting to the extent that the swearing-in of the next President will, by the grace of God, be in the arcade of the National Assembly of Nigeria.”

Recall that June 12 was officially designated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in 2018 to honour the annulled 1993 presidential election, widely considered the freest and fairest in the nation’s history and won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale, MKO Abiola.

The National Assembly had invited President Bola Tinubu to address a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday (today) to mark the 2025 National Democracy Day.

Speaking further, Senator Bamidele also announced that the Senate was considering an extension of the implementation period for the 2024 budget, particularly its capital expenditure component.

He said, “We have to sit and assess the full implementation of the 2024 budget. We will extend the capital expenditure timeline while ensuring the 2025 budget is fully implemented.”

Speaking on constitutional reform, Senator Bamidele who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, however, acknowledged that progress has been slow, but assured that the process is ongoing.

He asserted that the committee was close to the final stages of its work and plans to hold public hearings at zonal levels in the coming weeks, leading to a joint public hearing coordinated by both chambers of the National Assembly.

He said, “We’ve done almost 70 percent of the work before going public. Before the end of the third legislative year, we intend to complete the constitutional amendment process.”