Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honorable Tajudeen Abbas
By DAVID IORJA, Abuja –
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.
In his 64th Independence Anniversary Speech on 1 October, President Tinubu conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic( CFR), on the speaker and the deputy senate president.
This development however sparked off a serious debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, with the legislators calling on the President to confer a higher honour on the Speaker.
In a statement issued in Abuja at the weekend, the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, explained that President 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,” Onanuga said.
According to the statement, “the speaker, the Senate President, other principal officers of the National Assembly and the Chief Justice of Nigeria will be formally decorated with their new honours later.”
