President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday presided over his last June 12 Democracy Day parade, a program he initiated in June, 2018.
The colorful parade was the very first of such parades, carried out at the Eagles Square since the signing of the Bill that heralded the June 12 celebration.
Previous Democracy Day celebrations had earlier taken place on the 29th of May of every year, to mark the day that the Military handed over power to democratically elected civilian government, in 1999.
The first event under the new program which was done in honour of Moshood Abiola, the winner of the June 12, 1993, Presidential election which was annulled by the then Military government presided over by Ibrahim Babangida, was low keyed in 2018, while the Corona virus pandemic in 2019 made it impossible for the event to be elaborately celebrated.
Read also: Democracy Day and Nigeria’s quest for authentic democracy
The Monday event, which was the 24th Democracy Day celebration, featured colorful march pasts by the various arms of the security agencies, at the Eagles Square.
The President had arrived the venue by 10am and immediately kick started the even with the inspection of the guard of honour, after the national anthem, riding in his special parade vehicle.
One of the major high point of the event was the march past by the Nigerian Army Women Corps, commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan, in full compact outfits, led by a young officer, Emmanuela Jacob, born in 1999.
More later.
