President Bola Tinubu has officially 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.
This development follows mounting debates within the National Assembly over the Speaker’s initial conferment of a lower title.
This announcement was made through a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
The statement, titled “President Tinubu Confers GCON on House Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas,” indicated that the President had decided to upgrade the Speaker’s honour from Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) to GCON, addressing earlier concerns raised by lawmakers.
The controversy began during Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day celebrations on October 1, when President Tinubu conferred the CFR title on Abbas, alongside the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin.
This decision sparked heated discussions in the House of Representatives, with some members questioning whether the title adequately recognized the Speaker’s position.
Following a motion raised in the House on Wednesday, calling for clarity on the matter, it was suggested that Abbas deserved a higher honour, given his role as Speaker.
Responding to the pressure from the House, President Tinubu acted swiftly to resolve the issue. Mr. Onanuga explained in the statement that, “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 decision brings Abbas in line with the status traditionally afforded to his office, following the National Assembly’s precedence hierarchy.
This adjustment comes after earlier clarification by Senator Basheer Lado, the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, who had addressed criticisms surrounding the original honours bestowed during the Independence Day broadcast. Lado’s statement, made prior to the President’s decision to upgrade the Speaker’s honour, sought to defend the conferment, emphasizing that it was based on “established precedents and procedures, not on any arbitrary criteria.”
Lado also noted, “It is noteworthy that the House did not reject the honour conferred on the Speaker but rather sought clarification on the National Order of Precedence.”
However, as the House continued to seek a resolution, President Tinubu’s latest move to award the GCON to Abbas was seen as an acknowledgment of the lawmakers’ concerns.
Lado, in his earlier remarks, had commended the House of Representatives for raising the issue, saying, “The motion presented before the House was framed as an institutional issue, not a personal request by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.”
The conferment of the GCON title is expected to resolve any lingering disputes regarding the Speaker’s honour.
Onanuga confirmed that the formal decoration of the Speaker, Senate President, other principal officers of the National Assembly, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria would occur in a ceremony scheduled for a later date.
This marks the end of the controversy, reinforcing Speaker Abbas’ standing within the leadership hierarchy.
“This Office has acknowledged all the concerns raised by the House and will brief the President accordingly,” Lado stated in his prior clarification, now effectively addressed by the President’s announcement.
