Nigeria’s federal government has declared Monday, June 13, public holiday to mark this year’s Democracy Day which comes up on June 12.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr M. L. Shuaib Belgore, on Thursday.
The minister urged all citizens to support the present administration in its efforts at ensuring a secured, united and prosperous nation.
He admonished Nigerians to use the occasion to reflect on the long journey the country has made towards the enthronement of a civil democratic order, before national Independence in 1960 till date and the sacrifices of our patriots.
“As we mark another Democracy Day in the history of our dear country, let us reflect on the efforts of our founding fathers and ensure that Nigeria remains one united, secured, peaceful and an indivisible entity, noting that no development can take place in an acrimonious environment,” he said.
“With the challenges we face in Nigeria today, I see an opportunity for us not to break up or break down, but to break open; open up to ourselves in truth so that we may appreciate each other, understand each other, honour each other and live together in peace and prosperity,”
Aregbesola further enjoined Nigerians to keep faith with democracy, that though it might not have brought our best expectations, we should keep at it, knowing that practice makes perfect, and the alternatives are far worse and have proved ruinous and disastrous to the nation.