By Daniel Peters.
President Bola Tinubu has upgraded the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), Nigeria’s second-highest national honour, following a protest by members of the House.
Our correspondent recalls that initially, during his 64th Independence Anniversary address on October 1, Tinubu had conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) honour on Speaker Abbas and the Deputy Senate President.
However, this decision prompted a debate within the House of Representatives, where lawmakers called for a higher distinction for the Speaker.
In response to the protests, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, released a statement on Friday confirming the President’s decision to upgrade Abbas to GCON.
Onanuga described the move as a correction of a “historical error and oversight” in accordance with the National Order of Precedence.
He also noted that the Speaker, along with the Senate President, other principal officers of the National Assembly, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, would be officially decorated with their new honours at a later date.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
