The National Assembly has revealed plans to initiate a bill to ensure that Presidents-elect are sworn in at the arcade of the National Assembly.
The Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, made this disclosure while responding to questions on the June 12 anniversary on Tuesday in Abuja.
Bamidele said the legislation was part of efforts to strengthen the country’s democracy.
He added that the parliament would also introduce another bill requiring the President to deliver a ‘State of the Nation Address’ in the National Assembly on 12 June annually.
The National Assembly had invited President Bola Tinubu to address a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday to mark the 2025 National Democracy Day.
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Bamidele said:
“It is our desire to institutionalise the State of the Nation Address. We will introduce 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. 12 June will be a more appropriate time for the President to address the nation through the National Assembly.
“There is no better day than 12 June 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 reform our political framework to the extent that the swearing-in of the next President will, by the grace of God, take place at the arcade of the National Assembly of Nigeria.”
Democracy Day is observed in Nigeria every 12 June in honour of the late Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of the 1993 Presidential election.
The 1993 election is widely regarded as the freest, fairest and most credible election in Nigeria’s political history.
