By Goodluck Ikiebe
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.
The list contains 447 names out of which seven are foreigners, the event is part of a series of activities to mark Nigeria’s 62nd independence anniversary. Present at the event is the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who was said to have arrived at the venue at exactly 10:13 am.
There was a heavy security presence at the premises of the ICC and all the adjoining roads leading to the venue as top government officials, political big wigs and foreign citizens participated in the conferment of the various honours.
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.
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.
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.
National Honour on Distinguished Journalists.
A new dawn for Nigeria’s democracy is in the horizon following the recognition of contributions of distinguished, prominent Nigeria’s finest journalists, who have contributed in moving the country forward in no small way.
The conferment of National Award by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria on the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA and seasoned administrator, Mr. Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, and the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President and former President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Femi Adesina, with the Award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), and the Award of the Member of the Federal Republic (MFR), on the National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Chris Isiguzo and the Award of Member of the Order of Niger (MON) on the former President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, a communication strategist, Mr. Halilu Ibrahim Dantiye, deserve commendation and praises.
The deserving Awards on these distinguished journalists is a clear testament of the fact that the role of journalists and the media at large in the development of the country is accorded genuine recognition and appreciated by the federal government.
It is equally worthy of note that this is the first time in the history of Journalism in Nigeria that such quality numbers are being recognized and so honoured by the federal government.
The honours will certainly serve as a moral booster and lubricant to inspire other journalists to continue to provide quality information dissemination as well as generate better media contents and serve as the needed oxygen that will strengthen the ideals and principle of democracy for the overall good of the society.
The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, (NAWOJ), in a statement wishes to congratulate the four Distinguished journalists on the conferment of the National Awards and wish them higher and greater heights in their future endeavours.
The statement signed by the President, NAWOJ, Ladi Bala, says the Awards and recognition speak volumes and indeed, a thing of pride to all journalists. The 2022 National Honour Awards of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will surely be remembered for its unique choices of the Awardees.
Another unique award was received by Prof Francis Adedayo FADUYILE, as OON.
The Special Adviser To The Ondo State Governor on Health and Former NMA President, described the award as best gift in the service to fatherland. He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the recognition and promised to do more in rendering service to humanity.
Similarly, the Nigeria Union Journalists had commended the President for recognizing one of its own for the award.
