•Tinubu (L) at the National Assembly today
The National Assembly has formally adopted June 12 as the day for the President of Nigeria to address a joint session of the legislature.
The decision was taken today during a special Democracy Day sitting at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, where President Bola Tinubu delivered a commemorative address to lawmakers, reports Channels TV.
Presiding over the joint session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the formalisation of the date following a motion raised by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
“Mr President, in the eloquent speech by the Honourable Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, he raised a motion that June 12 should be formalised as the Presidential Day of Address to the joint session of the National Assembly. I hereby put the question,” Akpabio said, drawing responses from the floor.
“Those in support of the motion, moved and seconded, say ‘Aye’; those against say ‘Nay’. The ‘Ayes’ have it,” he ruled.
Addressing President Tinubu directly, Akpabio added, “Mr President, that is the motion of the National Assembly, done in your presence. Mr Speaker, the statistics do not lie — we are quite happy with the data you rolled out and the House that we all run”.
The Senate had earlier, on June 10, hinted at plans to institutionalise the annual presidential address on June 12, given its historic significance.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele confirmed that a bill to that effect was in the works.
“We are hoping to bring a bill soon to institutionalise 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,” Bamidele said.
He further disclosed that the proposed legislation would also seek to establish the National Assembly complex as the official venue for future presidential swearing-in ceremonies.
“In that bill, we are hoping to ensure that the swearing-in ceremony of the next President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria—whom we believe will be President Bola Ahmed Tinubu—will be held within the arcade of the National Assembly,” he stated.
