‘We are not inferior to Senate’ – Reps reject CFR award for Speaker

The House of Representatives has turned down the National Honour conferred on Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, stating that President Bola Tinubu discriminated against the House by giving Senate President Godswill Akpabio a higher honour.

It would be recalled that on Tuesday, Tinubu announced the award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Akpabio and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere Ekun, while Abbas and Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau got the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).

Following a motion of urgent public importance moved by Philip Agbese on Wednesday, the House resolved the Reps are not inferior to Senators, and therefore, both leaders should be treated equally.

The motion, signed by 360 members of the House, called for the abolition of the “upper chamber and lower chamber nomenclature”, stating that both chambers are equal.