The House of Representatives, has objected to the decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to confer the National Honours award of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) alongside the Deputy Senate President.
The President had during his 64th Independence Anniversary’s nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, announced the awards, as he also conferred the National Honours Awards of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger GCON, on the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
Members of the House at resumption of plenary on Wednesday while debating a motion presented under matters of urgent public importance by Deputy spokesman of the House, Hon. Philip Agbese expressed displeasure, saying the Speaker should be awarded the same honour with the Senate President.
Agbese had expressed concerns that “there is an ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House of Representatives, often portrayed as inferior to the Senate, through language that consistently refers to the Senate as the “upper chamber” and the House of Representatives as a “lower chamber”.
He argued that the terminology misrepresents the legal status of both chambers and diminishes the House’s standing, adding that “this discriminatory practice was once again evidenced during the recent conferment of National Honours on the leadership of the National Assembly by Mr. 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 Deputy President of the Senate perpetuates the inappropriate subordination of the Speaker to the President of the Senate”.
Several members spoke in support of the motion, after which the Speaker resolved to set up an an Ad-hoc committee, headed by the Majority Leader, and all zonal caucuses leaders and regional leaders of Southern and Northern causes as members, with a mandate to look at all the issues and offer report back to the House within three days.