The House of Representatives has lauded President Bola Tinubu for conferring the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger on the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.
Earlier, The House of Representatives reaffirmed its equal status with the Senate following a motion adopted last week.
This move came after Senate President Godswill Akpabio received the prestigious Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) award, while the Speaker of the House was initially conferred a lower honor, the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).
However, in a significant development on Friday, the President upgraded the award bestowed on the Speaker to GCON, bridging the perceived gap between the two legislative bodies
In a statement issued on Saturday, 05 October, 2024 by the spokesman of the House, Akin Rotimi, the legislative body said that the action of the President has restored “Parity between both chambers of the National Assembly.”
The house Speaker while responding to the kind gesture commended the President’s commitment to justice and fairness.
“I thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for correcting the mistakes made by past administrations that did not conform to the House’s constitutional recognition.
“The President has once again demonstrated his democratic credentials as a true democrat, an objective, and a listening leader.
“With this development, Nigeria and indeed the world now know that the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has the same status as its sister chamber, the Senate, and is treated as such.
“I thank the President for heeding the voices of reasoning from the House and other well-meaning Nigerians,” Abbas said.
“I thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for correcting the mistakes made by past administrations that did not conform to the House’s constitutional recognition.
“The President has once again demonstrated his democratic credentials as a true democrat, an objective, and a listening leader.
“With this development, Nigeria and indeed the world now know that the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has the same status as its sister chamber, the Senate, and is treated as such.
“I thank the President for heeding the voices of reasoning from the House and other well-meaning Nigerians,” Abbas said.
The House of Representatives recently passed a resolution, sponsored by Philip Agbese's motion and backed by over 249 members, calling on the President to address the long-standing disparity in national honors conferment.
Their resolution was benched on equalizing the recognition of the Speaker with that of the Senate President and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, upholding the constitutional principle of parity between the two legislative chambers.
According to Rotimi, “The House wishes to reaffirm that the appeal was not motivated by personal interest but as a matter of institutional integrity and constitutional propriety.
“The correction addresses the previous misperception that the House of Representatives was subordinate to the Senate, despite the constitution clearly stipulating both chambers as co-equal in legislative authority.”
