Nigeria At 62: Buhari Confers National Honour On 440 Nigerians, 7 Foreigners

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday conferred various categories of national honour awards on 440 Nigerians and seven foreigners.

The event which is part of the series of activities marking Nigeria’s 62nd independence anniversary, took place at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja.

The awards are: Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), 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 six Nigerians 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 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, Mr Yakubu Dogara, the late Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari (Posthumous) and former President of the Court of Appeal, retired Justice Ayo Salami.

Other recipient of the 2022 Nigeria national honours also include African investor,  philanthropist and UBA chairman, Tony Elumelu, Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, award-winning Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the 19th Emir of Zazzau, His Highness Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli and the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede among others.

Also, seven foreigners — 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 — were also honoured.