Current Challenges Being Exploited To Impair Democracy —Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has said that some individuals are making efforts to cash in on the current economic challenges in the country to undermine and destroy democracy.

The President, however, promised to preserve democracy and protect the rights, freedoms, and liberties of Nigerians.

He added that the Federal Government negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organised labour on a new national minimum wage.

He promised to as soon as possible send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of the law for the next five years or less.

In his nationwide broadcast on Wednesday, on Democracy Day, the President noted that some persons sacrificed their lives to ensure that democratic government was put in place about 25 years ago.

His words: “My dear compatriots, Nigeria faced a decision of untold gravity 25 years ago: Whether to veer towards a better destination or continue aimlessly in the fog of dictatorship.

“We made the right choice then. We must continue with that choice now.

“As Nigerians, we must remind ourselves that no matter how complicated democracy may be, it is the best form of governance in the long run. We must also be aware that there are those among us who will try to exploit current challenges to undermine, if not destroy, this democracy for which so much has already been given.

“These people do this not to make things better but to subject all other people and things to their control and dominance until the point that, if you are not counted among their elite, then your life will be small and no longer owned by you.

“This is the great battle of our day and the major reason we specially celebrate this Democracy day.”

The President said that Nigeria’s democracy is more than a historic fact, noting that it is a living, breathing reality.

He further said that the true meaning of the day is not to focus solely on the great deeds of the past that have brought the country to her present point.

He said: “Yes, we pay eternal honour to those who laid down their lives, sacrificing everything to pave the way for the nation.

“I stand uniquely placed in this regard. I was among those who took the risk to midwife the birth of our democracy. I am now a direct and obvious beneficiary of the fruits of those historic efforts.

“As president of this nation, I am morally and constitutionally bound to preserve this precious form of governance. I vow to do my utmost best to protect your rights, freedoms, and liberties as citizens of Nigeria.

“Even more than that, I pledge to do whatever is necessary to cement democracy as our way of life.

“I come before you also to declare that our most important work remains before us. This real test has never been whether we would rise to challenge the slings of misfortune and grievous pain of dictatorship.

“The real test is whether we shall lower our guards as the shadow of despotism and its evident physical danger fade.”