{"id":33042,"date":"2026-06-12T13:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=33042"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:43:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:43:51","slug":"nigerias-sdp-candidate-calls-for-renewal-of-democratic-values-on-june-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/nigerias-sdp-candidate-calls-for-renewal-of-democratic-values-on-june-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s SDP Candidate Calls for Renewal of Democratic Values on June 12"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) \u2014 Social Democratic Party presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo on Friday urged Nigerians to recommit themselves to democratic values, credible elections and constitutional governance as the nation marked the 33rd anniversary of the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Democracy Day message, Adebayo described June 12 as a defining moment in Nigeria\u2019s political history and a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by pro-democracy activists in the struggle against military rule. He warned that the \u201clabour of the nation\u2019s democratic heroes must not be in vain,\u201d noting that democratic deficiencies continue to challenge Nigeria\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1993 election, widely regarded as Nigeria\u2019s freest and fairest, was won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the SDP but annulled by the military government, triggering years of political crisis and agitation for civilian rule. Abiola\u2019s campaign message of \u201cFarewell to Poverty\u201d drew support across ethnic, religious and regional divides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adebayo condemned the annulment as a violation of the Constitution and the collective will of Nigerians. He paid tribute to Abiola, his wife Kudirat, and thousands of citizens who suffered persecution, imprisonment and death in the struggle to restore democracy. He also acknowledged former President Muhammadu Buhari for officially recognizing June 12 as Democracy Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Nigeria\u2019s return to civilian rule in 1999, Adebayo said many of the democratic shortcomings that characterized the pre June 12 era remain. He stressed that the true essence of the anniversary lies not in annual commemorations but in strengthening democratic institutions and protecting the electoral process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we approach another general election, every Nigerian has a role to play in enthroning true democracy,\u201d he said. \u201cJune 12 must not be in vain. The labour of our heroes past must not be allowed to go to waste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He further urged leaders to implement Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution, focusing on citizens\u2019 welfare and security, and to ensure that governance reflects the genuine mandate of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globally, Nigeria\u2019s Democracy Day is seen as a reminder of the country\u2019s turbulent transition from military rule to civilian government, and of the continuing struggle to consolidate democratic practices in Africa\u2019s most populous nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adebayo added that Nigeria\u2019s democratic journey remains incomplete without reforms that guarantee transparency, accountability and respect for the rule of law. \u201cI was born and raised under military rule, and I will never wish for that dark era to return,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must confront the problems facing our democracy and ensure that Nigeria reaches the democratic destination our heroes fought for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) \u2014 Social Democratic Party presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo on Friday urged Nigerians to recommit themselves to democratic values, credible elections and constitutional governance as the nation marked the 33rd anniversary of the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election. In a Democracy Day message, Adebayo described June 12 as a defining moment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":33043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2096,4,5,1138],"tags":[18932,18927,18931,18930,18633,18933,18928,18929],"class_list":["post-33042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-featured","category-international","category-politics","tag-constitutional-governance-nigeria","tag-june-12-1993-election","tag-kudirat-abiola-tribute","tag-mko-abiola-legacy","tag-nigeria-democracy-day-2026","tag-nigeria-democratic-deficiencies","tag-prince-adewole-adebayo-sdp","tag-social-democratic-party-nigeria"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/prince-september-2025-second-image.webp?fit=1136%2C787&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33042"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33060,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33042\/revisions\/33060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}