Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has clarified that June 12 is not a public holiday.
It said through its twitter handle, Government of Nigeria @AsoRock, that the declaration of June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day does not make it a public holiday.
It tweeted, “NOTICE:
There have been questions regarding whether or not there will be a FEDERAL public holiday on June 12, 2018.
“The answer is NO.
“Presidential Order says June 12 “in FUTURE YEARS will replace May 29th as a National Public Holiday in celebration of Nigeria Democracy Day.”
It said the clarification was in response to questions raised by the public.
President Muhammadu Buhari had declared June 12 as the new Democracy Day, calling it “a date which in future years will replace May 29th as a national public holiday in celebration of Nigeria Democracy Day.”
On Thursday, Buhari had directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami to take immediate steps to publish the Presidential Order in the Federal Gazette as follows:
Chief MKO Abiola – Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (Posthumous).
Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe – Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger
Chief Gani Fawehinmi – Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (Posthumous).
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said, Buhari directed that this should be done so that the awards slated for June 12, 2018 can go on as planned.