In preparation for the 2025 Democracy Day celebrations, President Bola Tinubu will address the nation at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday. Following his address, the President will attend a joint session of the National Assembly at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, as part of the commemorative activities. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by Abdulhakeem Adeoye on behalf of the Director of Information and Public Relations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Democracy Day.
Adeoye also announced that there would be no parade to mark this year’s celebration. Instead, a public lecture will be held later in the day at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, starting at 4:00 p.m. The theme of the lecture is: “Consolidating on the Gains of Nigeria’s Democracy: Necessity of Enduring Reforms.” This year’s event marks 26 years of uninterrupted democratic governance in Nigeria since the end of military rule in 1999.
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Previously observed on 29 May—the official inauguration date for the president, governors, and lawmakers—Democracy Day was shifted to 12 June in 2018 to honour the annulled 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as Nigeria’s most credible, and won by the late MKO Abiola.
The 2025 celebration will be the third Democracy Day observed under President Tinubu’s administration, following his victory in a fiercely contested 2023 general election. Despite over two decades of uninterrupted democratic rule, critics continue to raise concerns about the strength and integrity of Nigeria’s democratic values.
