The House of Representatives has rejected what it described as inferior Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) award conferred on the Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.
The House, therefore, mandated the relevant House Committees to liaise with the Presidency and propose amendments to the National Honours Act of 1964 to appropriately recognise the Speaker as co-head of the National Assembly and also confer the national honour of GCON on him.
The resolution of the House was sequel to the adoption of a motion titled, “multi-partisan motion on the inappropriate discrimination against the House of Representatives and the presentation of the chamber as inferior to the Senate”, moved at the plenary on Wednesday by Hon. Philip Agbese and co-sponsored by 235 members.
Presenting the motion, Agbese said Section 47 of the 1999 Constitution provides for the establishment of the National Assembly, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives, each of which plays distinct but complementary roles in the legislative process.
He expressed worry that there is an ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House, 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 emphasised that this terminology misrepresents the legal status of both chambers and diminishes the House’s standing.
Agbese expressed worry by the 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.
This, he said, undermines the authority of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, adding that neither the constitution nor the Standing Orders of both chambers recognise the position of a Chairman of the National Assembly as his title has no legal basis.
The lawmaker further expressed concern that this discriminatory practice was once again evidenced during the recent conferment of National Honours on the leadership of the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.
Agbese noted: “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.”
He maintained that 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 (GCON) for the President of the Senate or CFR for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and that these distinctions are rooted in customary practice rather than statutory requirement;
The House resolved: “Call attention to the ongoing discriminatory practice of referring to the Senate as the “upper chamber” and the House of Representatives as the “lower chamber,” as well as portraying the Speaker as subordinate to the President of the Senate.
“Mandates 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 and, accordingly, confer the national honour of GCON upon the Speaker, ensuring parity in recognition with the President of the Senate. This should be accomplished before the formal decoration by Mr. President.”.
The House urged the President to uphold the spirit of bicameral equality as enshrined in the Constitution when making decisions and recommendations that concern the leadership of the National Assembly.