Following pressure from members of the House of Representatives on the disparity in the award of title to the principal officers of the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on the occasion of the 64th Independence Day celebration, the President has now conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) title on the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.
Recall that Tinubu had in his 64th Independence Anniversary broadcast conferred the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio with Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, GCON and the Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR, title was conferred on the House of Reps Speaker, Abass and the Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.
But days after on the floor of the Green Chambers, members of the House expressed displeasure at the downgrading of the office of the Speaker by the award of CFR.
The House, relying on the equality of members of the National Assembly demanded that the Speaker be honoured with same title as the Senate President.
The lawmakers insisted that both chambers of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) are equal. The House warned that henceforth, the Green Chamber should not be referred to as a lower chamber of the Assembly.
Therefore, to douse the tension and maintain working harmony in the National Assembly, President have taken down the title of CFR awarded to the Speaker and conferred the GCON honour on the House of Representatives Speaker.
This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Friday evening in Abuja.
He said, “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.”
“Tinubu was persuaded by the House of Representatives position and has decided to remedy the historical error and oversight.
“Thus, he has decided to upgrade the Speaker to GCON from CFR, in accordance with the National Order of Precedence.”
“Abbas; the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, other principal officers of the National Assembly, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria will be formally decorated with their new honours later,” Onanuga said.
In a related development, the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters Basheer Lado, on Friday dismissed insinuations of disharmony in the National Assembly between the Senate and the House.
He said, “I wish to reiterate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to a harmonious working relationship with the National Assembly. Given that cooperation between both arms of government is essential to achieving Nigeria’s development objectives,”
“It is noteworthy that the House did not reject the honour conferred on the Speaker. But rather sought clarification on the National Order of Precedence,” Lado said.
source: Channels TV
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