President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Friday, conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Recall that in his Independence Day speech, Tinubu said Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Chief Justice of Nigeria, will be conferred with GCON, while Abbas and Barau Jibrin, Deputy Senate President, will get Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).
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The lawmakers, on Wednesday, however rejected the planned conferment of the CFR title on its Speaker.
The house maintained it is discriminatory for Tinubu to confer GCON on Akpabio and Kekere-Ekun, while reserving CFR for Abbas.
READ ALSO: Reps Reject Tinubu’s National Honor Award To Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas
In the latest development, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said the House position prompted the President to remedy the historical error and oversight.
Onanuga noted that the upgrade of Abbas from CFR to GCON aligns 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 statement added.
Abbas will be the first speaker to be conferred with the GCON title.
