The Government has announced that the 149 Nigerians who will receive National Honours will foot all their travel & accommodation bills. Good idea, right?
As Reported
EMINENT Nigerians and friends of the country named by the Federal Government as awardees of the 2012 National Honours will foot their hotel bills and flight fares to Abuja where they will mount the dais to receive their medals.
President Goodluck Jonathan will confer the awards on the 149 Nigerians, including Globacom Limited Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga, who got this year’s highest honour of the Grand Commander of the Niger (GCON).
Adenuga joins the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who received the award last year, to be the second recipient of the award in the last two years.
In a statement he issued yesterday, the Permanent Secretary (Special Duties Office) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. Henry Akpan, said the 149 Nigerians would be conferred with the national honours today.
He said: “The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties Office, have concluded preparations for the conferment of National Honours Award on 149 Nigerians and others.
“President Goodluck Jonathan will conduct the 2012 National Honours Award Investiture of deserving Nigerians and friends of Nigeria.”
Unlike the previous editions, the Federal Government said yesterday that it would not refund the money the recipients pay for the flight tickets, hotel accommodation and other perks for the period they will stay in Abuja for the ceremony.
It was learnt that the measure was among the steps taken by the government to trim down the cost of governance.
The Guardian also learnt that most of the recipients had accepted the government’s position and would therefore not present any documents for the refund of the expenses incurred by them.
Officials said with this arrangement, any awardee expecting any special consideration or looking forward to reimbursement would be disappointed.
A senior official in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) confirmed yesterday that “there is no such provision this year. If it has been the precedence, then it means that has changed. The government has not made any arrangement for such operating expenditure.”
Also, the current awardees may only get one invitation card for their guests unlike the past recipients who were given two cards and accorded generous considerations.
Some of the recipients yesterday faulted the restriction placed on the number of guests they can bring to the event, saying where an awardee has more than one wife, “who do you give the card to, and who would you leave out?”
The recipients include six Supreme Court Justices (CFR), four serving governors, seven serving senators, notable lawyers, clergymen and a film director.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar (CFR); business mogul, Gabriel Igbinedion (CFR), former Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Tony Elumelu (CON); and erstwhile Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kawu Baraje (CON), also made the list.
The retired Supreme Court Justices are Kayode Eso and Andrew Obaseki. They will be conferred with CFR.
The governors are Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Danbaba Suntai (Taraba), who will receive CON.
The senators include Victor Ndoma-Egba, Abdul Ahmed Ningi and Ayogu Eze, who will also be conferred with CON.
There are also Dr. Patrick Dele Cole (CON), Wole Olanipekun (OFR), former Military Governor of Lagos State, Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson (rtd) (CFR), Cletus Ibeto (CON), a Benin-based lawyer, Omoruyi Omonuwa (OFR), Alex Izinyon (OFR), Labour Party (LP) Chairman, Dan Nwuanyanwu (OFR) and an artiste, Teco Benson (MFR).
The General Overseer of The Redeemed Evangelical Ministry (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo (MFR), a traditional ruler, the Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Victor Kiladejo (MFR) and film director, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, are also on the honours’ list.
Amid criticisms of the list, especially the presence of some Nigerians who are on trial for alleged criminal offences, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, last Tuesday rose in defence of the government’s action.
Okupe challenged critics of the list to name the awardees who did not deserve a place in it.
On Adenuga, Okupe said: “We must be able to celebrate Nigerians like Adenuga who has brought succour to the people with the establishment of Globacom.
“Nigerians are proud of the company which, though is competing with foreign companies, is doing very well. His many businesses are employers of labour. He has not done badly and he deserves the award, like the other 148 Nigerians.”
The groundswell of opposition to Elechi’s continued at the weekend in Ebonyi State as some interest groups restated their opposition to Jonathan’s inclusion of the governor on the list.
The Guardian learnt that against the background of a possible mass protest against his nomination for the award of CON, the governor has told his supporters that not more than 20 persons should travel to Abuja to felicitate with him to avoid any breach of the peace.
Two groups, the Campaign for Democracy, (CD) and Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) had at separate fora, called for the removal of Elechi’s name from the honours’ list, saying that the governor should first publicly clear himself from “the many corruption allegations leveled against him and the Deputy Governor, Dave Umahi.”
The South East Zonal Chairman of CD, Mr. Dede Uzor, had at a press conference in Onitsha, Anambra State, last Wednesday called on Jonathan to delete Elechi’s name from the list, contending that based on a recent publication that allegedly chronicled many financial misdeeds against him, he should not be honoured until he is cleared.
Also, Chairman of NUF, Augustine Chukwudum, referred to a petition to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC) titled ‘Elechi defend yourself or resign,’ and asserted that retaining the governor on the list would further taint the award with “ignominy and public opprobrium.”
Source: The Guardian
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