The House of Representatives said it did not reject President Bola Tinubu’s plan to award Speaker Tajudeen Abbas the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).
The House said in plenary on Wednesday that the awarding of the CFR to Speaker Abbas and the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to Senate President Godswill Akpabio “is a perpetuation of the improper subordination of the Speaker to the Senate President.” .
Accordingly, the House of Commons established a special committee chaired by the Leader of the House of Commons. Julius Ihonbere, along with leaders of the Northern and Southern Causes, regional caucuses and others, will work with the Office of the President to redress the violations.
However, Hong Johnson, deputy spokesperson for the House of Representatives and the motion’s lead sponsor, said in a statement Wednesday night: Philip Agbese (APC, Benue) House of Representatives argued that: “The Speaker, as the fourth-ranking citizen of the nation, has priority after the Vice-President and the President of the Senate, while the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) ranks fifth.”
Mr. Agbese said the lawmakers therefore called on President Bola Tinubu to consider awarding him the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to reflect the position of the Chairman and his place in national priorities.
He said the misunderstanding about the so-called denial of honor stemmed from an amendment proposed by Prime Minister John Johnson. Anthony Adebayo Adepoju, was ultimately deemed inappropriate and withdrawn.
“We must take this opportunity to educate sections of the media that contributions from honorable members during debates do not fall under House resolutions. We must report passionately what resolutions we will adopt on specific issues.”
He reaffirmed that the House had not rejected the CFR honor bestowed on Mr. Tinubu to Speaker Abbas, adding that the House congratulated the prestigious award conferred as an exercise of presidential powers under the National Honors Act. He said there was.
“This is a recognition of the Speaker’s service to the nation and underlines the important role of the House of Representatives in the development of Nigeria.
“We therefore wish to make it clear that this is not a matter of individual promotion of the Speaker, but a bipartisan call for the establishment of a House of Commons by all stakeholders within the framework of Nigeria’s democratic institutions. I think so,” Agbese said.
He added that the House of Representatives “resolved to respectfully ask the President to consider elevating the honor in line with national priorities.”
“The House then referred the motion to a select committee, which will include representatives from the zonal and regional caucuses and will be chaired by the House Majority Leader to take further legislative action. ‘ he added.
