The deputy spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, has commended President Bola Tinubu for heeding the request of the House to elevate the national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic, earlier bestowed on the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas to the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.
Tinubu, in his nationwide broadcast on Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary on Tuesday, conferred national honours on prominent Nigerians, including the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, Speaker Abbas and Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, among others.
While thanking the President during a plenary session for the honour, Agbese, via a motion of urgent public importance, drew the attention of his colleagues to the discriminatory treatment meted out to the Speaker, noting that the House was not inferior to the Senate.
Agbese, in his argument, noted that while the Speaker, who ranks 4th in the order of protocol, was awarded a CFR, the Chief of Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, ranked 5th was accorded a higher honour of GCON.
Lawmakers elected on different political party platforms commended the Benue legislator and appealed to President Tinubu to revisit the historical antecedent and right the wrong.
On Friday, the President, in a statement signed by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, announced that Speaker Abbas had been honoured with the GCON honour.
In a telephone interview with PUNCH Online on Saturday, Agbese pleaded with President Tinubu to similarly upgrade Kalu’s Commander of the Order of the Niger to the Commander of the Federal Republic.
He said, “What our leader, the President and the Commander-in-Chief has done has clearly shown that he is a listening leader. We are elated that he listened to us and corrected the historical misstep by giving the Office of the Speaker the respect it deserves.
“Just a few days ago, we pleaded with His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR to revisit the historical anomaly, and he has done the needful. We are grateful.
“However, we are equally asking that the CON earlier conferred on the Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu should be upgraded to CFR.
“Come to think of it, the Deputy Senate President bagged a CFR. It is only logical that his counterpart in the House is accorded the same status.
“Like we argued last week, this is not about the person but about institutions. We are doing this for history, for posterity. We know that Mr President will do it again.”
