The 10th House of Representatives has rejected the conferment of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, alleging discrimination in the conferment of national honours on the leadership of the National Assembly.
Tribune Online reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the occasion of the 64th Independence Anniversary of the country, announced the conferment of national honours on the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun; Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, among others.
Reacting to the honour in a motion sponsored by all 360 lawmakers, the House drew attention to the conferment of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Akpabio and Justice Kekere-Ekun.
FG confers National Honours Award on Reps’ Deputy Speaker, Kalu, Akpabio, Justice Kekere-Ekun
The lawmakers, while rejecting the conferment of the honour of CFR on Speaker Abbas, argued that both chambers of the National Assembly are equal and the Green Chamber should not even be referred to as a lower chamber.
The House also called on President Tinubu to correct what they described as an error, lamenting that the GCON honour was conferred on the CJN who is lower in rank than the Speaker.
Meanwhile, Tinubu also conferred the honour of CFR on Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin; and awarded the honour of the Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) to the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu.
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