Speaker of Kogi House of Assembly, Mr Matthew Kolawale has described the 20 years of uninterrupted Democratic Rule in Nigeria as a sign of maturity and resolve by Nigerians to manage their affairs without interference.
He disclosed this in his Democracy Day message made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lokoja.
Kolawole who was recently re-elected speaker of the 7th Assembly in Kogi said the resolve of the people to manage their affairs emphasised the need to strengthen institutions that would make democracy to flourish more in the country.
He said there is no gainsaying that the gains recorded in last 20 years are more compared to the time the military held sway in the country.
The speaker urged Nigerians to cooperate with and support President Muhammadu Buhari to steer the country to the next level of development.
Kolawole congratulated Nigerians on the first officially recognised Democracy Day on June 12, to celebrate the presumed winner of the 1993 election, Chief MKO Abiola and also to reflect on the struggle for entrenching democracy in the country.
The Speaker who represents Kabba/Bunu Constituency in the house described the All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration under Buhari as a “government that listens and shares the pains and aspirations of ordinary Nigerians.”
He said that Buhari had done what his predecessors could not do.
“It is a proof that he is an outstanding democrat who believes in the norms and principles of a government of the people, by the people and for the people,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to learn from the life of late Abiola who believed in reaching out to the common people around him without minding their tribe, religion or colour, stressing that June 12 remain a watershed in the political history of the nation connoting peace, unity and integrity.
Kolawale also congratulated the new leadership of the 9th National Assembly led by the Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said their emergence was a signal that the APC as a party under the leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is determined to harmonise different arms of government to deliver democracy dividends to Nigerians.
