President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred the nation’s second highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, following a protest by members of the House of Representatives.
In his 64th Independence Anniversary speech on October 1, President Tinubu initially awarded Abbas and the Deputy Senate President with the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) honour. However, this led to a debate within the House, with members calling for a higher recognition for the Speaker, arguing that it was a matter of national precedence.
Responding to the protest, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced in a statement on Friday, October 4, that Tinubu acknowledged the concerns of the lower chamber and decided to remedy the “historical error and oversight” by upgrading the Speaker’s award to GCON.
“President Tinubu has been persuaded by the position of the House of Representatives and has thus decided to upgrade the Speaker to GCON from CFR, in accordance with the National Order of Precedence,” the statement read.
Onanuga also noted that the Senate President, Speaker, other principal officers of the National Assembly, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria will be formally decorated with their new honours at a later date.