National honours: House not inferior to Senate, Reps tell FG

The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, asked the Presidency to note that as one of the chambers that make up the National Assembly, it is not inferior to the Senate.

This was as the House rejected the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic conferred by Presient Bola Tinubu on the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, demanding that the Speaker should get the title of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, just like the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The House mandated its relevant committees to liaise with the Presidency to commence the process of amending the National Honours Act of 1964.

The Reps described as demeaning, the conferment of the CFR on the Speaker, while the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, was conferred with the GCON title.

President Tinubu had on Tuesday announced the conferment of different honours on the nation’s leaders during his Independence speech.

Moving a motion of urgent public importance during Wednesday’s plenary session, the deputy spokesman for the House, Philip Agbese, described as unacceptable, the treatment of the House of Representatives as if it is inferior to the Senate, in apparent reference to the conferment of GCON on the Senate President.

He noted that in the order of protocol, the Speaker is fourth, wondering while the CJN, who is ranked fifth, was accorded a higher honour.

The lawmakers took turns to make their contributions, saying they were not speaking for Abbas as a person but for the Office of the Speaker.

This followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Multi-partisan motion on the inappropriate discrimination against the House of Representatives and the presentation of the chamber of the as inferior to the Senate,” moved by Agbese during Wednesday’s plenary.

Leading the debate, Agbese, who represents Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency, Benue State, said, “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.”

According to him, the terminology “misrepresents the legal status of both chambers and diminishes the House’s standing.”

“The House is worried about a growing trend where the President of the Senate is referred to 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.

“Neither the Constitution nor the Standing Orders of both chambers recognise the position of a chairman of the National Assembly. This title has no legal basis and undermines the fundamental principle of bicameral parity.

“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 on the President of the Senate and the conferment of the Commander of the Federal Republic 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.

“The Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is lower in protocol ranking 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.”

Agbese noted that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) “clearly provides that bills passed by one chamber must be concurred with by the other in the same form for them to become law, thus affirming the equal status of both chambers as essential components of the legislative process.”

“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 for the President of the Senate or the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. These distinctions are rooted in customary practice rather than statutory requirement.

“The honour of GCON is not restricted to any particular office or individual but can be awarded to any distinguished Nigerian deemed deserving by the President, as evidenced by the recent conferment of GCON on Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

“This House acknowledges the flexibility inherent in the national honours system and the prerogative of the President in the allocation of such distinctions.”

In his contribution, the member representing Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency, Katsina State, Sada Soli, urged President Bola Tinubu to do the right thing.

 “The President is not shy of doing the right thing. The Office of the Speaker deserves the GCON. It is a mismatch for the CJN to be given the title of GCON while the Speaker, the fourth person in the order of protocol, is given the CFR.”

On his part, a member of the All Progressives Congress representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency, Lagos State, Babajimi Benson, said the practice of treating the Office of the Speaker with disdain was one that had lingered for tooa long.

“It is an institutional error that has festered for too long. The Speaker comes fourth. How does the CJN get GCON and the Speaker CFR? This lacuna should be investigated by the executive arm of government,” he said.

The lawmaker representing Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency, Imo State, Etinosa Akarachi, said, “The House should be treated as equal with the Senate considering our numbers.”

In his ruling, Speaker Abbas, who presided over the plenary session, inaugurated an ad hoc committee chaired by the House Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, “to mandate the relevant House committees 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 co-head of the National Assembly.”

It also urged the Committee to walk the distance to ensure that “the national honour of GCON is conferred on the Speaker, thus ensuring parity in recognition with the President of the Senate. This should be accomplished before the formal decoration by Mr President.”

The House also called on all government institutions, officials, and the media to take “cognisance of language and titles that suggest a hierarchical structure between the Senate and the House of Representatives or their respective leaders.”

The House also 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.”