Why we demanded GCON honor for Speaker Abbas—Reps

Members of the House of Representatives, Wednesday, demanded that the national honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger should be conferred on  the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.

That was after the lawmakers who came from different political parties described as demeaning the conferment of the Commander of the Federal Republic on the Speaker and the GCON on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, by President Bola Tinubu.

It should be recalled that President Tinubu announced the conferment of different categories of honors on the nation’s leaders during his Independence Day speech on Tuesday.

Moving a motion of urgent public importance during Wednesday’s plenary session, the Deputy Spokesman of the House, Philip Agbese, described as unacceptable the treatment of the House of Representatives as if it were inferior to the Senate, in apparent reference to the conferment of the GCON on the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

Agbese pointed out that in the order of protocol, the Speaker is ranked 4th, questioning why the CJN, who is ranked 5th, was accorded a higher honour.

Contributing, the lawmakers, who took turns to raise their concerns, noted that they were not speaking for Abbas as an individual, but for the Office of the Speaker.