The House of Representatives has opposed the conferment of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
In his Independence Day broadcast on Tuesday, Tinubu announced that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, were conferred with the honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, and Speaker Abbas were both conferred with the honour of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).
However, at resumed plenary on Wednesday, the House stated that this represented a continuation of the inappropriate subordination of the Speaker to the President of the Senate, as the former received a CFR while the latter was awarded a GCON.
The Green Chamber established an ad-hoc committee, chaired by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere, comprising leaders from both northern and southern caucuses, among others, to liaise with the Presidency and propose amendments to the National Honours Act of 1964 to appropriately recognise the Speaker of the House of Representatives as a co-head of the National Assembly.
The committee was also tasked with ensuring that the Presidency confers the national honour of GCON on the Speaker, similar to the recognition given to the President of the Senate, and to complete this before the formal decoration by President Tinubu.
This development followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance titled “Inappropriate Discrimination Against the House of Representatives and the Presentation of the Chamber as Inferior to the Senate,” moved by Hon. Philip Agbese (APC, Benue) and 235 other members.
In presenting the motion, Agbese stated that the National Assembly is constitutionally established as a bicameral legislature, comprising two equal chambers—the Senate and the House of Representatives—as stipulated in Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), with both chambers operating within a framework that ensures legislative independence and equality.
He noted that Section 47 of the 1999 Constitution established the National Assembly, which consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives, each playing distinct but complementary legislative roles.
The lawmaker expressed concern at the ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House, which is often portrayed as inferior to the Senate. This is perpetuated by language that consistently refers to the Senate as the “upper chamber” and the House of Representatives as the “lower chamber,” misrepresenting the legal status of both chambers and diminishing the standing of the House.
He raised concerns about the increasing trend of referring to the President of the Senate as the “Chairman of the National Assembly,” which inaccurately implies a hierarchical structure between the two chambers, contrary to the Constitution, and undermines the authority of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Agbese highlighted that this discriminatory practice was again evident during the recent conferment of National Honours on the leadership of the National Assembly by the President.
“While expressing our gratitude to Mr President for recognising and honouring the leadership of the National Assembly, we note that the conferment of the title of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on the President of the Senate and the conferment of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Deputy President of the Senate perpetuates the inappropriate subordination of the Speaker to the President of the Senate.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria, who ranks lower in protocol than the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was also awarded the title of GCON, further exemplifying this culture of discrimination against the leadership of the House.
“The National Honours Act of 1964 does not explicitly prescribe the conferment of specific honours, such as the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) for the President of the Senate or the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. These distinctions are rooted in customary practice rather than statutory requirement,” the Deputy House Spokesperson added.
In support of the motion, Hon. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) maintained that the Speaker, as the fourth citizen of the nation, should be honoured with GCON instead of CFR, questioning why the Chief Justice of Nigeria would be honoured with GCON while the Speaker received CFR.
He stated: “We know the President is a listening President. We know the President is not shy; he does not shy away from correcting issues. Mr Speaker, the House of Representatives should hold the honour of GCON.”
In his contribution, Hon. Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) described the action as an injustice to the institution of the House, asserting that while this has persisted for too long, it remains an institutional error.
He remarked, “This motion cannot be overturned at any time. I thank the 360 members who also support this motion for putting democracy right. Injustice to one is injustice to all. This injustice has gone on for too long. It is not something that has occurred only in this administration; it is an institutional error.
“Mr Speaker, I want to remind members that when this administration is formed, the Speaker ranks fourth, preceding the Chief Justice of Nigeria. How can the Chief Justice receive the GCON honour while the Speaker receives the CFR honour?
“Moreover, in a comparative analysis of the system of government of the United States of America, if something were to happen to both the President and the Vice President simultaneously, guess who is in line to become the President of America? It is not the Senate President or the leader of the Senate; it is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Upon adopting the motion, the House urged the President to uphold the spirit of bicameral equality as enshrined in the Constitution when making decisions and recommendations concerning the leadership of the National Assembly.
It also called attention to the ongoing discriminatory practice of referring to the Senate as the “upper chamber” and the House of Representatives as the “lower chamber,” and portraying the Speaker as subordinate to the President of the Senate.
The House further requested that the Speaker be recognised as co-chairman of the National Assembly in all respects and that all references to the leadership of the National Assembly reflect this equality.
It directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to ensure that all communications, orders, and publications from the National Assembly henceforth refer to both the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate as co-heads of the National Assembly.
Later, the House of Representatives clarified that it did not reject President Bola Tinubu’s plan to confer the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Speaker Abbas Tajudeen Abbas.
During plenary on Wednesday, the House stated that the conferment of CFR on Speaker Abbas and the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Senate President Godswill Akpabio was “a perpetuation of inappropriate subordination of the Speaker to the President of the Senate.”
Consequently, the House established an ad-hoc committee chaired by House Leader Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, including leaders from northern and southern caucuses, to liaise with the Presidency to correct this infraction.
However, in a statement issued by the deputy spokesperson and lead sponsor of the motion, Hon. Philip Agbese (APC, Benue), on Wednesday night, he argued that “the Speaker, as the nation’s fourth citizen, follows the Vice President and President of the Senate in precedence, with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) ranked fifth.”