Tinubu upgrades Speaker Abbas's national honour to GCON after pressure

The President said the speaker, President of the Senate, other principal officers of the National Assembly and the CJN would be formally decorated with their new honours later.

President Bola Tinubu has 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.

In his 64th Independence Anniversary Speech on October 1, the President conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the speaker and the deputy senate president.

This led to a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, calling on the President to confer a higher honour on the Speaker.

“President Tinubu was persuaded by the House of Representatives position and has decided to remedy 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,” Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, said in a statement.

The President said the speaker, President of the Senate, other principal officers of the National Assembly and the Chief Justice of Nigeria would be formally decorated with their new honours later.

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