President Bola Tinubu has conferred national awards on 51 eminent Nigerians, including All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Joe Igbokwe, prominent media icons, pro-democracy activists, and retired military officers who fought against military dictatorship during the historic June 12 struggle.

In a nationwide broadcast marking 27 years of unbroken civilian rule in commemoration of the 2026 Democracy Day, the President paid tributes to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, and other icons, stating that while Nigeria’s democracy is not perfect, it remains the ultimate vehicle for national development.

Prominent among those listed for national awards alongside Igbokwe are National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) chieftains Chief Ayo Opadokun, Chief Ralph Obioha, and Dr. Arthur Nwankwo (posthumous); media veterans Lade Bonuola, Femi Kusa, Sir Ademola Osinubi, and Dele Alake; and activists Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, Richard Akinnola, and Prof. Sylvester Odion-Akhaine.

Significantly, the President recognized “soldier-democrats” who opposed military junta regimes, including retired Colonels Sambo Dasuki and Lawan Gwadabe, Major-General Ishola Williams, and the Etsu Nupe, Brigadier Yahaya Abubakar.

The President also approved the renaming of the Institute of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna, as the General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua University of Geological Sciences and Engineering Technology.

Addressing the nation’s security challenges, particularly recent student abductions in Oyo and Borno states, President Tinubu declared that democracy without security is a mirage, revealing that the 2026 budget commits a record 5.41 trillion Naira to defense alongside the recruitment of over 50,000 police officers. He issued warning to bandits, kidnappers, and sponsors of terror to surrender or face the full force of the Nigerian State, noting that windows of surrender will not remain open forever, though terror-related deaths have dropped by 81% since 2015 with over 13,000 terrorists neutralized in the past year.

On the economic front, the President defended his administration’s aggressive reforms as a necessity to salvage public finances, stating that the next phase of his administration is to ensure that democracy is felt in the pocket of everyday citizens by tackling inflation and boosting local production.

To resolve the chronic electricity crisis, the President announced that the Presidential Power Sector Task Force has been authorized to raise a 4 trillion Naira bond to clear legacy debts drowning the power value chain, adding that the Electricity Act, which decentralizes power generation to states, is already yielding results.

Reaffirming his commitment to grassroots development, Tinubu emphasized his administration’s push for full financial autonomy for the 774 local government areas, attributing the rise in rural insecurity to the collapse of local governance. Urging the political class and institutions to protect democratic guardrails ahead of the upcoming Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, the President stated that while the generation of the nation’s founding fathers secured independence and the generation of June 12 secured democracy, the current generation must now secure prosperity.