Reps Berate Tinubu’s National Honours on Akpabio, CJN, Demand Equal Recognition for Speaker Abbas
Reps Berate Tinubu’s National Honours on Akpabio, CJN, Demand Equal Recognition for Speaker Abbas
By Matthew Eloyi
The House of Representatives has voiced strong dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s conferment of national honours on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, accusing the presidency of unfairly sidelining the Green Chamber.
A motion sponsored by all 360 lawmakers highlighted what they described as discrimination, following the conferment of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Akpabio and Kekere-Ekun.
The lawmakers rejected the decision to award Speaker Tajudeen Abbas with the lower honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), arguing that both chambers of the National Assembly are equal in status.
“We should not even be referred to as a lower chamber,” they argued, expressing displeasure that the GCON honour was given to the CJN, despite the Speaker holding a higher constitutional rank. The House urged President Tinubu to rectify what they termed an oversight.
The conferment was announced by President Tinubu during his Independence Day broadcast in Abuja to celebrate Nigeria’s 64th anniversary. In addition to Akpabio and Abbas, Tinubu also awarded the honour of CFR to Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and the Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) to Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
The House has called for swift action to correct the perceived imbalance.
