BREAKING: Tinubu bows to pressure, confers GCON on Reps speaker

President Bola Tinubu has conferred the nation’s second-highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed on Friday night, titled, ‘President Tinubu Confers GCON on House Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas’.

This comes amid controversies and heated exchanges between the Senate and the House of Representatives over the Speaker’s eligibility for a higher honour.

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 led to a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, calling on Tinubu to confer a higher honour on the Speaker.

Onanuga said, “President Tinubu was persuaded by the House of Representatives position and has decided to correct 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.”

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, the Presidency said.

Stephen Angbulu

With three years of experience, Stephen, The PUNCH correspondent, has been covering Nigeria’s presidency, politics, security, immigration and trafficking in persons

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