President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja approved the conferment of national honours on three distinguished Nigerians who contributed immensely to the enthronement of democratic governance in the country.
They are Agunwa Anekwe, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and two former presidents of the Senate, Iyorchia Ayu and Ameh Ebute.
All the three were leaders of the National Assembly in the Third Republic
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, made the announcement in an address at the conferment of posthumous national honour on Moshood Abiola, Gani Fawehinmi and Babagana Kingibe.
He said that the investiture of the three former legislators will take place at a later date.
”These awards serve as a public acknowledgement of their pivotal contribution to nationhood and a further demonstration of this administration’s commitment to upholding the ethos of democratic governance,” Mustapha said.
He stressed that the proclamation of June 12 as Democracy Day was a public recognition of the country’s heroes whose “supreme efforts laid the foundation for our nascent democracy.”
According to the SGF, “Today marks a new dawn in the nation’s political and democratic advancement signalling the deepening of our belief in the democratic principles of inclusiveness in governance and hope for a greater Nigeria.
”The monumental election that took place on June 12, 1993, represented the first time in the history of our nation that Nigerians voted not for tribe or creed or region but for their convictions, affirming their common heritage and unity of purpose.”
Mustapha added: “June 12, more than any other day, symbolized the varied struggles and sacrifices made by fellow citizens of this great nation, established democracy as our political system of governance, and opened a new chapter in the political history.
”It is in commemoration of this day, the spirit of which should be internalized in the consciousness of Nigerians of all ages and taught to our children and generations of Nigerians yet unborn, that this administration has, in placing history in the right perspective, declared June 12 of every year as Democracy Day and as a national holiday”.
NAN reports that President Buhari decorated Kingibe with the national honour of GCON while the posthumous award of GCFR for late MKO Abiola was received by his son, Kola, and that of GCON for late human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, was received by his wife, Ganiat.
