House of Representatives reject Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic award conferred on Speaker

The House of Representatives has rejected the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) conferred on the leadership of the lower chamber, Hon Abbass Tajudeen, as announced by President Bola Tinubu in his October 1, Independence Anniversary.

Penpushing reports that the federal lawmakers argued that the Speaker deserves to be awarded Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) as conferred on the Senate President Godwill Akpaibo and Chief Justice of Nigeria

The House of Representatives in the rejection of the award, emphasized that the differences in national honour was discriminatory, adding that the Senate President Senator Akpabio and Speaker House of Representatives are first among equals

Penpushing further reports that the President in the broadcast announced that the Senate President and Chief Justice of Nigeria were awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), while the Speaker of the House of Representatives was conferred with the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).

The House of Representatives, following the development constituted an ad hoc committee, chaired by the House Leader, Hon Julius Ihonvbere, to look into the issue and report to the House within three days, while these resolutions followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon Philip Agbese of All Progressives Congress (APC, Benue) and supported by the 359 members of the House.

Penpushing also reports that Agbese presenting the motion vehemently rejected the concept of the House being subservient to the Senate, describing the differences in national honour as discriminatory against the House of Representatives

‘There is an ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House of Representatives, often portrayed as inferior to the Senate, through language that consistently refers to the Senate as the upper chamber and the House of Representatives as a lower chamber. This terminology misrepresents the legal status of both chambers and diminishes the House’s standing’, Agbese stated.

Penpushing reports that in similar development the lawmaker rejected the description of the senate president as the chairman of the national Assembly, stating that the term is unknown to the Constitution.

The member of the House of Representatives, Hon Sada Soli representing All Progressives Congress (APC), Katsina state while supporting the motion reiterated the view that both chambers are equal, and honour given to any of the presiding officers should be equal.

Penpushing further reports that Soli explained that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who served as the Speaker of the 9th Assembly, equally complained when he was given a lesser title compared to the Senate president.

The federal lawmaker queried the president’s decision to give the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), honour to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), despite that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) ranking lower than the Speaker on the protocol list.

“This is not about Abbas Tajudeen, this is about the fourth person in the protocol of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is about equal chambers as enshrined in the Constitution. According to protocol, the speaker is fourth, and the CJN comes after. Today, the CJN is given the award of a GCON, which is a misnomer,” he said.

Penpushing also reports that Soli while buttressing his argument frowned at the award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to businessmen while the same honour was difficult to give to the speaker.

“I remember that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who was a minister in this country, was given the award of a GCON. I don’t think she attained the status of the fourth person in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Michael Adenuga is a businessman and a private citizen, and he was given the honour of GCON, so too was Aliko Dangote, a businessman profiting from his ventures, yet also given GCON’, he said

“I could recall that on 23 September 2021, the present Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, then the Speaker of the 9th Assembly, wrote to the Minister of Special Duties to correct this anomaly,” he added.

Penpushing reports that Hon Abdulmummin Jibrin of New Nigerian People Party (NNPP, Kano) in his contribution called for caution, noting that the views expressed on the matter could be misconstrued by many as a fight for the title and appealed for a more diplomatic solution.

The New Nigerian People Party (NNPP) federal lawmaker questioned the power of confirmation of appointments given to the Senate, stating that the House is a better representation of Parliament than the Senate, which is a product of “equality”.

“We don’t want a situation where the press will report that the House is fighting for titles. It is a broader issue. We want the narrative to reach the public in the right way. There is no disparity between the Senate and the House of Representatives’, he said.

“Over the years, a wrong perception and impression have been created, and we need to correct that immediately. There is no such thing as an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The essence of the Senate is equality. But the broader representation is the House of Representatives, which is based on landmass and population’, Jibrin added.

“If you are talking about the better representation of what the National Assembly stands for, it is the House of Representatives. We are reminding them to confer upon any speaker the proper honour. I do not understand why we leave it to the Senate’, he stated.

Penpushing further reports that on his own part Hon Cyril Hart of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Rivers), while speaking on the motion, referred to the National Honours Act of 1964, which states that only two Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) awards can be given in a single year.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) federal lawmaker said that given the legal impasse, the Chief of Justice of Nigeria (CJN) should be stripped of the honour, and it should be given to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“What this simply means is that if the senate president has been given one, our resolution should include that the CJN should relinquish his honour to the speaker, or any speaker until we amend this Act’, Hart said.

Penpushing also reports that former Deputy Speaker Idris Wase of All Progressives Congress (APC, Plateau), however, countered the argument, stating that the House should not concern itself with the process of getting it done.

The former Deputy Speaker informed the House of the Representatives that the tussle has been ongoing for a while, noting that the leadership of the House in the Ninth Assembly fought the same battle but failed.

“We are not subservient to any legislative arm; we are supposed to be on par in terms of functions. Where we are getting it wrong is with the ‘Chairman of the National Assembly’ title. It is not known to the Constitution. This has given rise to what is happening now’.

“Last time this occurred, the leadership then sat and discussed it, and even decided that we should return the award. A letter was communicated, but I think we should follow up. When the list was released, I had to look at it and concluded that the right thing had not been done’, Wase said.

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