Family of the June 12, 1993, Presidential election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Bashorun MKO Abiola, yesterday urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to introduce legislation that would permanently institutionalise June 12 as the Democracy Day in Nigeria.

A spokesman for the Abiola family and one of the sons of the late MKO, Chief Abiola, Hameen Abiola, made the appeal, yesterday, shortly after the yearly visit of the state government delegation to the family house in Oja-Agbo, Abeokuta, the state capital.

According to the family, institutionalisation remains the only way to permanently immortalise and ensure that future generations in Nigeria do not abolish the day and thereby, commit the sacrifice rendered by their late patriarch into the waste bin of history.

The state government’s delegation, led by the Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, family, friends and associates of the late politician had held a prayer session in memory of the late MKO Abiola at their family house, Oja Agbo, Abeokuta.

Speaking against the backdrop of the fear of future neglect, Hameen added that developments in the country had made it important for the Federal Government and the National Assembly (NASS) to develop a way for the younger generations to learn the values and sacrifices of June 12, 1993 election and the annulment.

They thank the Federal Government and past governments for the honour done to their father, who they described as a father of many Nigerians, given the supreme sacrifice he had to pay for the democracy, being enjoyed by all today.

MEANWHILE, the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has called on Nigerians to renew their commitment to democratic values, inclusive participation, and a transparent electoral process.

Abiodun also encouraged youths to take their place in shaping Nigeria’s democratic journey, take part in civic dialogue and hold leaders to account not through cynicism, but through informed action.

The governor stated this in his address at an event to mark Democracy Day held at the Hubert Ogunde Hall, June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto Abeokuta.

Represented by his Deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Abiodun noted that the significance of June 12 in Nigeria’s democratic journey could not be overstated, as it represented both the fierce struggle and the meaningful progress Nigerians had made towards a more inclusive and participatory political order.

IN Osun State, Osun Civil Societies Coalition, yesterday marked the 2025 Democracy Day with peaceful protest and demand for the payment of entitlements to the family of Abiola as a former president of Nigeria.

They also called for good governance from government at all levels.

The protest, according to the organisers, was necessary to highlight the challenges facing the country and the need for governments to proffer solutions to them.

Speaking in Osogbo as a crowd of protesters moved across streets in the state, one of the organisers of the protest and Osun State Chairman for the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Emmanuel Olowu, said the peaceful protest was being held to press home some demands, which the government had neglected over the years.