Buhari and Governors to mark Democracy Day Without Fanfare

Due to the currently worrisome state of the Nigerian economy, President Muhammadu Buhari and a number of state governors have decided to tow the line of a modest celebration of this year’s Democracy Day on the 29th of May.

The date which also marks President Buhari’s first year in office and that of some of the governors, would be marked without much fanfare. For the presidency, the major event of the day would be the president’s address to the nation in an early morning broadcast.

Reports from The Punch newspaper say the only other event scheduled to celebrate the day is an interdenominational anniversary church service to be held at the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to lead top government officials and friends of the nation to the service being organised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The federal government had on Wednesday, however, declared Monday, May 30, as a public holiday to commemorate the Democracy Day, which falls on Sunday.

A number of state governors are said to have equally cancelled elaborate celebrations of Democracy Day as a result of the decline in the federal allocations to the states in recent months.

The special adviser on media and communication to the Bauchi state governor, Alhaji Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, said “Anything showy and extravagant will not be part of the one year anniversary. Activities lined up for the anniversary have been planned with the dictates of the austere moment.”

In Niger state, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, speaking through his senior special assistant on media, Mr Jide Orintunsin, said, “We are all aware of the economic hardship the country is facing; we have to be mindful of that before we do anything.”

A similar decision has reportedly been taken in Imo state. Commissioner for Information, Youth and Sports, Chidi Ibe, told newsmen, “When the economy used to be stable, we celebrated Democracy Day with a lot of money and fanfare. We decorated everywhere, placed adverts on the pages of the newspapers. It was either that the state government congratulated the President or the ministries felicitated with the governor.

“But this time around, it won’t be like that. All the fanfare associated with the celebration in the past cannot take place this time around.”

Meanwhile, the Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and his Akwa Ibom state counterpart, Udom Emmanuel, have said they planned to mark the anniversary with thanksgiving services in church.