Tinubu bows to pressure, upgrades Speaker Abbas’ national honour to GCON

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

This decision comes after a protest by members of the House of Representatives, following the initial conferment of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the Speaker.

The initial award was part of Tinubu’s 64th Independence Anniversary honors on October 1, which also included the Deputy Senate President. However, this sparked dissatisfaction among members of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, who felt the Speaker deserved a higher honor.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives held a debate urging the President to reconsider the Speaker’s rank in the national order of precedence.

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Responding to the pressure, President Tinubu, through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the upgrade of Speaker Abbas’s honor from CFR to GCON in a statement on Friday.

Onanuga noted that Tinubu had been “persuaded by the House of Representatives’ position” and had decided to correct what was termed a “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 statement said.

It added that the Senate President, other principal officers of the National Assembly, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria would also be formally decorated with their new honors at a later date.

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