By Bayo Davids
Prominent party leaders have expressed different opinions on the recent conferment of the national honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas.
President Bola Tinubu had last week in his Independence Day broadcast conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic on Mr Abbas only for lawmakers in the Green Chamber to demand the GCON honour for the Zaria-born legislator, arguing that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio who bagged the second highest honour was of equal status with the Speaker.
Consequently, the House in a resolution reached at a plenary session, appealed to the President to upgrade the CFR conferred on Mr Abbas to a GCON; a request that was granted last week as convened in a statement issued by presidential media aide, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
Speaking with our correspondent on the issue, the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Mr Ralph Nwosu said President Tinubu ought to concentrate on addressing the challenges of governance rather than bestowing honours on political leaders.
“We cannot be at this crisis point where we are and what the President is doing is to confer big honours on certain individuals. What we have is a state capture and they are doing everything they want. In this situation of state capture, his team is holding him hostage. If it is not for state capture, there wouldn’t be any award for anyone in the executive or legislative arms of government given the situation of the country,” he said.
According to the ADC chieftain, ordinary Nigerians are the ones who deserve honours given the ability to cope with the hardship in the land over the past few years.
“If we must bestow honour, it should be on ordinary Nigerians who have found different ways to navigate the challenges the political class has thrown them into. There are a lot of Nigerians doing big things in agriculture. They are the true champions.”
He however added that there was no basis for conferring a GCON on Akpabio without doing the same for the Speaker “Who is presiding over a House of 360 members.”
In a yet another interview with our correspondent, a chieftain of the Labour Party and Interim National Coordinator, Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa chided the President for the timing of the honours. According to him, those who bagged the national honours may have done the President some favour in the past.
He said, “These people are not serious in terms of nation-building. Why would the President think of giving any title or honour this time? Perhaps, the awardees are people who have served his interest and he is trying to pay them back in his way.
“The country is under siege by the President and he sees this as personal entrepreneurship rather than a collective interest. He can probate and reprobate at any time he feels it’s okay for him.
“With due respect, the National Assembly is seen as a rubber stamp. Their respect and honour have already been submerged under the President’s control. There is no sense of independence as a body because they have always been wining and dining. They agree to whatever the Presidency wants. This is why they hardly care about what is happening to the common man on the street.”
That said, Tanko chided the Federal Government for the arrest and prosecution of the #EndBadGovernance protesters, who a few weeks ago hit major streets in the land, agitating for better living conditions.
“Nigerians who are demanding good governance are being charged for treasonable offences and they are already walloping in jail. This is unacceptable. Nation building should reign supreme and the interest of the people should be number one,” he added.
Similarly, the Young Progressives Party speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Wale Egbeola-Martins described the appeal for upgrade of CFR to GCON as misplaced.
“The recent demand by the House of Representatives to upgrade the CFR honour conferred on the Speaker to GCON is not only self-serving but misplaced. With pressing issues like corruption, poverty, unemployment, inflation, insecurity, and out-of-school children, one can’t help but wonder why the focus is on national awards.
“This latest shenanigans of the House of Representatives among many others in the past has further strengthened our call for the scrapping of the bicameral legislature because of its high financial costs without any tangible benefits. Several events that have unfolded since the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly have given credence to the ineffectiveness of the bicameral legislature, hence the need to restructure and embrace a unicameral legislature,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, Rufus Aiyenigba has commended the President for “reversing” himself with the GCON honour finally conferred on Mr Speaker.
According to him, “There is nothing self-catering in the argument of the House of Representatives. There is an established national order of precedence of public officers and the other persons of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The reversal of himself by the President is cognizant of the foregoing fact and is consistent with the extant Act in that regard.
“The national honour of GCON is not about Dr Abbass, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, but about the office he occupies. President Tinubu has done the right thing in correcting himself. I commend him for being responsive.”
Sharing the SDP publicity scribe position is a constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it. The President is GCFR; the Vice President, Senate President and CJN, GCON, including some prominent Nigerians like the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Alike Dangote, Chief Emeka Anayaoku, and Mike Adenuga among others.
Ours is a bicameral legislature. Since both chambers act together jointly in law-making, it is only meet that both the Senate President and his counterpart, the Speaker of the House have the GCON title,” he said.