Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration for a second term on May 29 will be low-key.
The minister told State House correspondents on Monday that a number of events slated for the inauguration would be held on June 12, which is the country’s new Democracy Day.
Buhari had in June last year, directed that from this year, Nigeria’s Democracy Day, marked every May 29 for the past 18 years, be shifted to June 12, to honour Nigeria’s Chief Moshood Abiola.
Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election, but the results were annulled by former military ruler Gen. Ibrahim Babangida on June 23, 1993.
The minister said the decision to have a low-key inauguration for the president was taken at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council on May 8.
He said, however, that invitations had been sent to world leaders to attend the ceremonies, marking the observance of Democracy Day on June 12.
“Since the first observance of June 12 as Democracy Day falls into an election year and as a measure to sustain June 12 as Democracy Day, the celebration of the inauguration and the advancement of democracy in the country will now take place on June 12,’’ the minister said.
He said that details of the events slated for the two ceremonies would be unveiled at a world news conference slated for May 20 in Abuja.
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, told Channels TV on Monday that “while May 29th remains significant as the inauguration day, all ceremonies associated with the inauguration have been deferred to June 12”.
“We want the world to see June 12 as this country’s most important day as far as democracy is concerned,” he said.
He explained that the May 29 inauguration will still be marked because according to the Constitution, the four-year term officially ends on the 29th of May.
“Let me say emphatically, it is important that the President and the governors are inaugurated on the 29th of May.
“Constitutionally, that must take place because their four-year term (2015-2019) expires on the 29th,’’ he said.
MM/GIK/APA