President Bola Tinubu has promised to defend the democratic right of Nigerians to freedom of speech.
In his Democracy Day speech at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, the President told security agents not to hound those criticising his administration’s perceived unpleasant policies.
“Democracy requires a fair degree of tolerance for harsh words and stinging insults,” Tinubu stated before a retinue of lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“Call me names, call me whatever you will, and I will still call upon democracy to defend your right to do so.”
Tinubu urged his political loyalists and lawmakers to value dialogue over dictatorship, persuasion over suppression, and rights over might.
“Be tolerant and broad-minded in your legislative action regarding speech and civil liberties,” he said.
Several journalists and persons have been haunted by their criticisms of the Tinubu administration and alleged violation of the Cybercrime Prohibition Act 2015 and other extant laws of the land.
The Tinubu administration has come under heavy criticism over alleged violation of Chapter 4, Section 39 (a) of the 1999 Constitution, which prescribed that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”.
In the first two years of the Tinubu administration, Daniel Ojukwu, Adejuwon Soyinka, and Segun Olatunji, among others, have spent days in the custody of state-sponsored security agents, a development that pro-democracy activists, as well as professional bodies Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria), have described as an ugly trend.
Many civil organisations have also expressed concerns over the Gestapo-style arrest of journalists by state security agents, saying it is an echo from the past and a prominent feature of the dark years of military rule. They said the ugly development impugned press freedom 26 years after Nigeria transitioned from dictatorial rule to democratic governance.
In his third Democracy Day speech, Tinubu, who assumed office on May 29, 2023, pledged to uphold the right to free speech.
“Do not be afraid to hear an unkind word spoken against you. Some of the best advice a politician gets sometimes comes from his most ferocious opponents. We dare not seek silence because the imposed silence of repressed voices breeds chaos and ill will, not the harmonics of democracy in the long term.
“While malicious slander and libel should not go unattended, no one should bear the brunt of injustice for merely writing a bad report about me or calling me names.
“Our nation is not perfect, but it is strong. Our democracy is not invincible, but it is alive. And this means our dream of a prosperous, happy nation is still within reach and worth fighting for,” he said.
The president also dismissed fears by the opposition that Nigeria was heading to a one-party state.
[14:28, 12/06/2025] +234 802 832 0159: ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President, Commander-in-Chief of The Armed Forces,
Federal Republic of ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR
AT THE JOINT SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN COMMEMORATION OF
DEMOCRACY DAY, 2025
THURSDAY, 12TH JUNE 2025
Protocol:
With profound honour, I stand before this joint session of our National Assembly; a parliament that embodies the will of the Nigerian people.
Today, as I entered this grand edifice built from the sweat and toil of our democratic yearning, my heart stirred. It was a blend of accomplishment and resolve.
I felt a sense of collective accomplishment when I realised how far we
had come as a nation. Since 1999, democracy has risen from the ashes and
destitution of military rule to take its rightful place as the only mode of
governance of our resilient and beloved people.
With every footstep I took through these hallowed halls up to the
moment I now stand before you, I remembered that we still have much
further to go.
To achieve this progress, we sought an elective office to lead this
nation forward. Thus, I hereby affirm before our Merciful and Almighty God
and all men my resolve to do all that I can to safeguard and build our
democracy as the Divine hand intends for us to do.
Since 2018, we have celebrated Democracy Day on this day; to
commemorate the sacrifices of the men and women who fought to restore
democratic governance to Nigeria.
Let me pay tribute to former President Muhammadu Buhari for
reaching back into history to rectify a national misdeed by making June 12
Democracy Day and by officially acknowledging Chief Moshood Kashimawo
Olawale Abiola and his running mate, Babagana Kingibe, as the victors and
thus duly elected President and Vice President respectively of Nigeria after
the June 12, 1993 elections.
Year by year, election after election, every time we debate instead of
battle, discuss instead of fight, and argue instead of destroy, we preserve
the institutions of democracy. More importantly, we weave the culture of
democracy into the very fabric of our nation.
Whilst Chief MKO Abiola is June 12’s central figure, we must not forget
the long list of those who equally deserve to be called heroes of Nigerian
democracy.
We must celebrate the courage of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and Pa Alfred
Rewane, both of whom were murdered by agents of military repression. We
also remember the many civil rights activists, journalists, and politicians
imprisoned, exiled, tossed aside, tortured and beaten by the military regime.
We remember Chief Anthony Enahoro, Commodore Dan Suleiman,
Chief Abraham Adesanya, Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Balarabe
Musa, Ganiyu Dawodu, the journalist Bagauda Kaltho, and Commodore
Ndubuisi Kanu. I mention these names not to exclude or degrade the
profound contributions of anyone else, but to illustrate, through these few
heroes, the universality of our pursuit of democracy.
The struggle was never the province of any one group or section of the
country, it was pan-Nigerian in its conception and will be even more pan-
Nigerian as we strive to perfect it.
It is fitting that I come to this chamber. You are the authors of the
people’s law, and I must be their faithful implementer. While we may not
always agree, we must forge a way to work together because this is what
democracy demands of us. I pledge myself to this cooperation and ask that
you do the same for the good of our people.
Mr. Chairman, the National Assembly has acted to uphold democratic
ideals at every critical moment in our national history. In 2006, the 5th
National Assembly protected our democracy against an unseemly third-term
bid that would have ripped our constitution apart. In 2010, the National
Assembly, through the doctrine of necessity, opened the door for then-Vice
President Goodluck Jonathan to become the acting President following the
illness of his predecessor.
Even under the military, the National Assembly tried to protect our
democracy. After General Abacha took over power on November 17, 1993,
and dissolved the National Assembly, some of us, led by Senator Ameh
Ebute, the Senate President in the 3rd Republic, defied the General and his
goons to reconvene in the Old Parliament Building in Lagos. We were jailed
for our defiance.
On behalf of a grateful nation, I commend your invaluable role in
lawmaking, oversight, and constituency representation.
At this point, I plead for your indulgence so that I may put a terrible rumour to bed.
To those who ring the alarm that the APC is intent on a one-party state,
I offer you a most personal promise. While your alarm may be as a result of
your panic, it rings in error. At no time in the past, nor any instance in the
present, and at no future juncture shall I view the notion of a one-party state
as good for Nigeria. I have never attempted to alter any political party
registration with INEC. Equally, my friends, we cannot blame anybody
seeking to bail out of a sinking ship even without a life jacket.
Look at my political history. I would be the last person to advocate such
a scheme. In 2003, when the then-governing party tried to sweep the nation
clean of political opposition through plot and manipulation, I was the last of
the progressive governors standing in my region.
In all their numbers and false grandeur, they boasted of ruling, not
governing, Nigeria for the next half century or more. Where are they now?
Yet, I stood alone. My allies had been induced into defeat. My
adversaries held all the cards that mortal man could carry. Even with all of
that, they could not control our national destiny because fate is written from
above. A greater power did not want Nigeria to become a one-party state
back then. Nigeria will not become such a state now.
The failed effort to create a one-party state placed progressive political
forces on a trajectory to form the APC. It put me on the trajectory which has
brought me before you today. I dare not do such a favour to any political
adversary by repeating the same mistake of political overreach.
A one-party state is not in the offing. Nor should it ever be. That said,
we would be guilty of political malpractice if we closed the door on those from
other parties who now seek to join the APC and I sincerely welcome our
party’s newest members from Delta and Akwa Ibom States led by Governor
Sheriff Oborevwori and Pastor Umo Eno and other members of this National
Assembly.
Political parties fearful of members leaving may be better served by
examining their internal processes and affairs rather than fearfully conjuring
up demons that do not exist. For me, I would say try your best to put your
house in order. I will not help you do so. It is, indeed, a pleasure to witness
you in such disarray.
We must welcome and accept the diversity and number of political
parties just as we welcome and…
National Honours:
- Prof. Wole Soyinka (GCON)
- Prof. Olatunji Dare (CON)
- Kunle Ajibade (OON)
- Nosa Igiebor (OON)
- Dapo Olorunyomi (OON)
- Bayo Onanuga (CON)
- Ayo Obe (OON)
- Dare Babarinsa (CON)
- Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah (CON)
- Senator Shehu Sani (CON)
- Governor Uba Sani (CON)
- Barrister Femi Falana, SAN (CON)
- Prof. Shafideen Amuwo (CON)
- Barrister Luke Aghanenu (OON)
- Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi (CON)
- Hon. Labaran Maku (OON)
securityandsafetymatters 