A bill to declare June 12 as a national public holiday passed has the second reading at the House of Representatives.
The bill which is jointly sponsored by representatives Edward Pwajok and Kayode Oladele got through the necessary parliamentary procedure after a debate during Thursday’s plenary.
The bill comes on the back of President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as the country’s future democracy day in May to honour Moshood Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the 1993 presidential election.
According to the sponsors, the bill was proposed to amend the Public Holiday Act in line with current realities and exigencies of modern times.
Reeling out a history of laws concerning public holidays in the country, Pwajok stated that the states were stripped off their powers in 1975 by the federal military government in order to streamline all public holidays.
He also recalled that the National Assembly amended the law in 2000 to accommodate May 29 as democracy day.
Pwajok, who is a lawmaker from Plateau State, said the president has been granted constitutional responsibility to declare any day as a public holiday by public notice or act through the Minister of Internal Affairs.
He noted that President Buhari has exercised his power granted to him by law but would need an amendment to the Public Holiday Act for the pronouncement to become effective.
He explained that if the bill is passed into law, June 12 will now be celebrated as Democracy day, while the present day of May 29 will only be celebrated after every four years when there is the inauguration of a new president.
Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives, who presided over plenary, forwarded the bill to the House Committee of the Whole for further legislative actions.
