Democracy Day: Pres. Tinubu promises to govern with fairness, respect for rule of law

…hails MKO Abiola, promises to ease the pains of petrol subsidy removal

President Bola Tinubu said on Monday that he fully identified with the pains of Nigerians following the petrol subsidy removal just as he pledged to govern with fairness and respect for the rule of law.

“We shall be faithful to truth, faithful to equity, and faithful to justice.

“We shall exercise our authority and mandate to govern with fairness, respect for the rule of law, and commitment to always uphold the dignity of all our people,” he said In his inaugural state broadcast to the nation to commemorate the annulment of June 12, 1993, as Democracy Day.

Persecondnews recalls that the elections adjudged by the international community as the fairest, freest and most credible and won by the late Chief MKO Abiola, was annulled by the then military ruler, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

Abiola was later arrested and taken into custody by the late Gen. Sani Abacha, another head of the military junta.

He died in the custody of the Federal Government in Abuja in 1998.

On the rule of law, Tinubu said his administration would not condone conflicting and illegal orders from the courts that would undermine Nigeria’s democracy.

“It is about the rule of law and vibrant judiciary that can be trusted to deliver justice and strengthen institutions.

” It has become imperative to state here that the unnecessary illegal orders used to truncate or abridge democracy will no longer be tolerated,” the president said.

On the hardships being faced by Nigerians in the aftermath of the fuel subsidy removal, Tinubu promised that his administration will “reward” their sacrifices with “massive investment” in transportation infrastructure, education, regular power supply, healthcare, and other public utilities that will improve their quality of life.

According to him, he identifies with the pains of Nigerians as the temporal discomfort is necessary to save the country from going under.

“I feel your pain. This is one decision we must bear to save our country from going under and take our resources away from the stranglehold of a few unpatriotic elements.

“Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources. Therefore, it had to go.”

Currently, petrol pump price has been increased from N195 to N500 and above across the filling stations in the country following the subsidy removal.

“It is for this reason that, in my inauguration address on May 29, I gave effect to the decision taken by my predecessor-in-office to remove the fuel subsidy albatross and free up for collective use the much-needed resources, which had hitherto been pocketed by a few rich.

“I admit that the decision will impose an extra burden on the masses of our people. Painfully, I have asked you, my compatriots, to sacrifice a little more for the survival of our country.

“For your trust and belief in us, I assure you that your sacrifice shall not be in vain. The government I lead will repay you through massive investment in transportation infrastructure, education, regular power supply, healthcare, and other public utilities that will improve the quality of lives,” Tinubu stressed.

The president posthumously lauded the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Abiola, describing him as the symbol of democracy.

“For Chief MKO Abiola, the symbol of this day, in whose memory June 12 became a national holiday, democracy is eternal.

*We can easily recall the sacrifice and martyrdom of Chief MKO Abiola, the custodian of the sacred mandate that was so cruelly annulled.

“He sacrificed his life in unyielding, patriotic defense of the ideals of democracy as symbolized in his choice, by his fellow countrymen and women, as their duly-elected President.

“There was an easier choice for him. It was to forgo the justice of his cause and opt for the path of ease and capitulation in the face of the tyranny of power. To his eternal credit and immortal glory, Abiola said no.

“He demonstrated the time-tested eternal truth that there are certain ideals and principles that are far more valuable than life itself,” Persecondnews quotes the president as saying.

He also described the bill he signed into law on June 8 for the harmonisation of the retirement age for judicial officers as one of many policy reforms in the offing.

Tinubu said: “The recent harmonisation of the retirement age for judicial officers is meant to strengthen the rule of law, which is a critical pillar of democracy. The reform has just started.

“The February and March 2023 elections are a true testament of Nigeria’s democratic journey, and the current legal contestations of the results are the ‘beauty of democracy.’

“This year, we held the seventh in the cycle of elections that have become sacred rituals of our democratic practice in this dispensation since 1999.

“That the polls were intensely contested is in itself positive evidence that democracy is well and alive in our land. It is only natural that even as those who won and experienced victory in the various elections are elated and fulfilled, those who lost are disenchanted and disappointed.

“But the beauty of democracy is that those who win today can lose tomorrow and those who lose today will have an opportunity to compete and win in the next round of elections.

“Those who cannot endure and accept the pain of defeat in elections do not deserve the joy of victory when it is their turn to triumph.

“Above all, those who disagree with the outcome of the elections are taking full advantage of the constitutional provisions to seek redress in court and that is one of the reasons why democracy is still the best form of government invented by man”

Tinubu, therefore, urged Nigerians not to take the liberty they now enjoy for granted as it was obtained through great sacrifice.

“The point is that we must never take this democracy for granted. We must forever jealously guard and protect it like a precious jewel.

“For, a people can never truly appreciate the freedoms and rights democracy guarantees them until they lose it.”

Tinubu restated his administration’s commitment to diligently fulfill every component of its electoral pact with the people – the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda.