By Henry Umoru

The Senate has said that plans are on top gear to institutionalise June 12 Presidential address in recognition of the day’s historical significance.

Disclosing this yesterday in Abuja while speaking with Journalists, the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central, said that the Senate was working towards preparing a bill to formalize the President’s speech to the nation on that date.

Bamidele said, “We are hoping to bring a bill soon to institutionalize 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’.

The Senate Leader, who further revealed that the proposed legislation would also seek to designate the National Assembly complex as the venue for future presidential swearing-in ceremonies, said, ‘‘We are hoping, in that bill, to ensure that the swearing-in ceremony of the next President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria, whom we believe is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will hold within the arcade of the National Assembly’.

Recall that June 12 was officially designated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in 2018 to honor the annulled 1993 presidential election, widely considered the freest and fairest in the nation’s history and won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale, MKO Abiola.

On the celebration day, President Bola Tinubu will address a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.

Also recall that the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Dr Yahaya Danzaria, in a statement, had said, “The Special joint sitting is scheduled to be held at the House of Representatives Chamber, National Assembly Complex, commencing at 11:00 am, with preliminary proceedings ahead of the arrival of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at noon.

“President Tinubu is expected to attend the occasion as a special guest of honour and will deliver a presidential address to the joint sitting,”

It added that the program would feature goodwill messages from former presiding officers of the National Assembly and the President’s conferment of national honors on select legislators.

Speaking further, Senator Bamidele also announced that the Senate was considering an extension of the implementation period for the 2024 budget, particularly its capital expenditure component.

He said, ‘We have to sit and assess the full implementation of the 2024 budget. We will extend the capital expenditure timeline while ensuring the 2025 budget is fully implemented.

Speaking on constitutional reform, Senator Bamidele who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, however acknowledged that progress has been slow, but assured that the process is ongoing.

He asserted that the committee was close to the final stages of its work and plans to hold public hearings at zonal levels in the coming weeks, leading to a joint public hearing coordinated by both chambers of the National Assembly.

He said, “We’ve done almost 70 percent of the work before going public. Before the end of the third legislative year, we intend to complete the constitutional amendment process.”

Vanguard News