President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday conferred some Nigerian citizens and foreigners with national honours.
The event was held at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja. This follows the release of the final list of persons proposed for various distinguished honours.
Recall that the amended final list was made public in a statement on Sunday by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Ibiene P. Roberts.
This was against the previously leaked list which contained the names of 437 persons that was subsequently denied by the government.
The new list now contains 447 names out of which seven are foreigners, Naija News understands. The event is part of a series of activities to mark Nigeria’s 62nd independence anniversary.
Speaking at the event, the President noted that the screening and selection of nominees for this year’s award as always followed established broad criteria, in accordance with the National Honours ACT CAP. 43 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
They include but not limited to :”Consistent and meaningful participation in community and /or national development, rendering unsolicited, selfless and philanthropic services to humanity; outstanding sacrifice in the defence of a cause popularly adjudged to be positive, relevant and beneficial to nation and community”.Othe criteria listed by the President for selecting the recipients are : “Distinct act and/or defence of national interest, public peace, safety of life and property. Remarkable achievements in any field of expertise where the person’s activities in that field have made significant contributions to the attainment of national goals and objectives”.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Honourable Minister of Special Dutites and Intergovernmental Affairs, Sen. George Akume noted that the ceremony is unique and outstanding due to the fact that since the birth of the present administration in 2015, there has not been an elaborate National Honours Award ceremony save the Special National Honours held on June 12, 2018, and September 15, 2022 respectively. His words, “This investiture ceremony were put on hold in the past years due to economic and security challenges coupled with the covid-19 pandemic that ravaged the entire global community.
He further stated, “Permit me to inform you of the rigorous selection procedure and processes these recipients passed through in order to be listed for this investiture ceremony. Over 5,000 applications were submitted to the NHAC Secretariat for consideration. Nominees were subjected to a thorough and painstaking Screening. At the end of the entire exercise, 499 Nigerians and friends of Nigeria were successful as follows; GCON-6, CFR-55, CON-65, OFR-69, OON-110, MFR-74, MON-55, MFR1-4, MFR2-4, Foreigners (OFR)-7. These recipients have contributed immensely to the economic and social development of Nigeria in their various professional and cultural fields”. He also stressed that holders of National Honours are expected at all times to live above board by maintaining the high moral standards of excellence upon which the honour is conferred.
Present at the event is the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as well as other high government officials, prominent Nigerians and foreign diplomats.
Because of heavy security presence, Awardees and their families, guests as well as media and others accredited had hectic periods to gain entrance into the venue due to the surging crowd at the venue, Naija News understands.
The award in order of importance are: Order of the Federal Republic, consisting of Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR), Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).
Also, in the Order of the Niger, are Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) and Federal Republic Medal (FRM).
The GCFR and GCON are customarily reserved and bestowed on former Presidents and Vice Presidents of Nigeria, including former military heads of state of Nigeria and Chiefs of General Staff.
The GCON is also customarily bestowed on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the President of the Nigerian Senate during their first year in office, while the CON is customarily bestowed on Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The 2022 list includes politicians, public officers, security officials, diplomats, academia, businessmen, traditional rulers, religious leaders and legal practitioners among others.
The six conferred with GCON are Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan; Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; immediate past CJN, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad (Rtd); former Minister of Finance and currently Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala; a former Minister of Environment and currently UN, Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina J. Mohammed and former President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prof. Tijani Muhammad-Bande, a report by Daily Trust noted.
Also honoured are Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara; late Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari (Posthumous) and former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami (Retd) among others.
Others are the 19th Emir of Zazzau, His Highness Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli and Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede among others.
The seven foreigners conferred with honour of FRM I and FRM II respectively are revealed as follows: Pierre Vandebeek, late George Stavros Coumantaros (Posthumous), Deepak Singhal, Dr. Attia A. Nasreddin, Chief Nabil A. Saleh (JP), Faysal M. El-Khalil and Ronald Chagoury would be honoured with OFR.
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