Reps Demand GCON Honour For Speaker, Reject CFR

On Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives from various political parties urged the Federal Government to award the national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, instead of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), which they deemed inappropriate.

The House criticized the decision by President Bola Tinubu to bestow the GCON on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, while conferring the CFR on the Speaker, arguing that it undermined the importance of the Speaker’s office.

During his Independence Day address on Tuesday, President Tinubu announced the conferral of national honours on several key figures. However, during Wednesday’s plenary session, Deputy Spokesman of the House, Philip Agbese, raised a motion of urgent public importance, objecting to what he called the “unacceptable” treatment of the House compared to the Senate. He pointed to the conferment of the GCON on Senate President Godswill Akpabio, arguing that the House of Representatives should not be considered inferior.

Agbese also questioned why the Chief Justice of Nigeria, ranked 5th in the national protocol order, received a higher honour than the Speaker, who is ranked 4th.

Several lawmakers supported the motion, emphasizing that their concerns were not about Speaker Abbas personally but rather about maintaining the dignity and respect of the Office of the Speaker.

Further discussions are expected to follow.