Reps Reject CFR Award, Demand Equal Treatment with Senate

The House of Representatives has rejected the National Honour conferred on Speaker Tajudeen Abbas. The decision came after President Bola Tinubu awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere Ekun, while Abbas and Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau received the lesser honor of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).

The House of Representatives viewed this as discriminatory, prompting a motion of urgent public importance moved by Philip Agbese. Supported by all 360 members, the motion declared, "We are not inferior to the Senate," and called for the abolition of the "upper chamber and lower chamber" terminology, emphasizing that both chambers should be treated equally.