National honours spark House, Senate power tussle debate

President Bola Tinubu’s conferment of honours on some notable Nigerians on Independence Day has opened the debate on the National Assembly hierarchy, as well as spark discourse on the effectiveness of Nigeria’s bicameral legislature, writes OLUWAFEMI MORGAN

During the modest celebration of the commemoration of Nigeria’s 64th independence on Tuesday, October 1, the conferment of national honours on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, by President Bola Tinubu raised several issues.

Political pundits stated that the concern of members of the House, also known as the Green Chambers, concerning the ‘demeaning’ honours meted on their principals reflected a subtle dissatisfaction between members of both the House and the Senate. They stressed that the imbroglio highlighted a troubled and wobbling federal structure that needs urgent constitutional and administrative clarity.

According to reports, Tinubu announced the conferment of honours during his independence speech. He bestowed on Abass, the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, CFR, and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, the Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON. Meanwhile, Akpabio received the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, GCON, while his deputy, Barau Jibrin, received the CFR. For the judiciary, the recently appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, was bestowed with the GCON.
  Restive Reps

Miffed by the lower honours bestowed by their principal officers, members of the House of Representatives, in its recent plenary session, stressed that the announcement of the President denigrates the office of the speaker and foregrounds agelong misrepresentation and discrimination against the green chamber. The deputy spokesperson for the House, Philip Agbese, moved a motion on the floor of the chambers titled ‘Multi-Partisan motion on the inappropriate discrimination against the House of Representatives and the presentation of the chamber as inferior to the Senate.’

Agbese, who represents Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency in Benue State, said, “There is an ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House of Representatives, 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.
“The House is worried about a 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, and undermines the authority of the Speaker of Representatives.’’

While adopting the motion moved by Agbese, the largely unanimous vote asserted that the Green Chamber and the office of the Speaker were not inferior to the Senate and its President, implying that both chambers were equal and constituted the legislative arm of government. They also directed the relevant House committees to engage the Presidency to amend the National Honours Act of 1964.

To provide further clarification, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, responded to the concerns of the House. He said that the honours were bestowed on all the leaders based on established precedents and procedures, not on any arbitrary criteria. He added, “It is noteworthy that the House accepted the honour conferred on the Speaker but sought clarification on the National Order of Precedence. He also stated that the House appreciated the honour bestowed on their principals. “The motion presented before the House was framed as an institutional issue, not a personal request by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.”

Lado’sperspective seems right. Apart from Senate President Bukola Saraki, who was excluded from being honoured by then President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022, most Senate Presidents from 1999 have been conferred with the GCON. All eight Speakers of the House of Representatives, from Salisu Buhari (1999) to Femi Gbajabiamila (2019), were bestowed with CFR honours.

In a swift response to the House’s concern, President Tinubu upgraded the CFR bestowed on Abass to GCON on Friday. This was done to douse the exchanges between the Senate and the House and to “remedy the historical error and oversight.”

National Honours Act

The National Honours Act provides the framework for awarding national honours in Nigeria. It states that the President is empowered to grant titles of honour, decorations, and dignities by warrant. It also outlines the establishment of honours, their ranks, precedence, and limitations on the number of recipients, designations and conditions for deprivation of honours.
Although the act prescribes conditions for service-specific warrants such as the armed forces, police, prison service—now correctional service—and fire service, it also outlines eligibility, appointment procedures, insignia details, and consequences of promotion or deprivation of the two Orders of Dignity. These are the Order of the Federal Republic and Order of the Niger, each with four ranks: Grand Commander, Commander, Officer, and Member. These ranks are also called Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic; GCFR, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger; GCON, Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic; CFR, and Commander of the Order of the Niger; CON.

Studies show that the GCON is the second highest position in the country and is usually bestowed on exceptional citizens in the public and private sectors of national life—it is rarely conferred on foreigners. Over the years, it has been preserved for top government functionaries, including the Senate President, Vice President, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and members of the high echelons of the military brass. However, only the President, former presidents, and heads of state have the highest honour, the GCFR.

Apart from the national recognition, the recipients of this honour are considered members of the elite with free access to national events and strategic national meetings. He or she is also recognised as a trusted member of the Nigerian political, business, and diplomatic community. This allows them to deploy their social and political capital to extend their influence within and beyond the shores of the country. They are also eligible for national burials at their eventual demise.

However, the CON and the CFR are lower honours compared to the GCON, and the CFR is higher than the CON. The honorific of the CFR is bestowed on public and private citizens who have made an impressionable impact on professional and governance roles. Apart from the preserved legacies of these personalities, the title can also be leveraged to extend their social, political, and economic influence within the country. They are also given priority access to national events and are given a state burial.

Likewise, the CON is conferred on reputable citizens who have contributed to humanitarian causes, improved the lives of citizens, and exceeded brilliance in contributing to Nigeria’s social, economic, and political growth. This includes public officials and business leaders who have advanced Nigeria’s growth. Their privileges include increased reputation within social, economic, and political enclaves; the honorific title after their names distinguishes them from other citizens; provides greater access to leadership roles due to the deployment of their influence, access to state functions and ceremonies, and a state burial at demise.

Two-arm legislature

Since Nigeria retrieved democracy from the fangs of several military interregnums in 1999, it has adopted the presidential system of government, which is mostly seen as an American model of democracy. Nevertheless, it retained the bicameral legislative structure despite departing from the parliamentary system of government in 1960—adopted from the United Kingdom. The Senate represented the regions while the House represented the constituents in 1960 and 1963.
Indeed, the tradition has remained consistent despite the change in governance practice, as the current Senate has three members per state, while the House entrenches deeper constituent representation, thereby crafting laws, checking the excesses of the executive arm, and engaging and raising concerns that are closer to the grassroots. This may have birthed the nomenclature that the House claims denigrates and misrepresents the Office of the Speaker and the Green Chamber. Crucially, neither the US constitution nor Section 47 of the Nigerian constitution expressly describes or recognises the Senate as the ‘’upper house” and the House of Representatives as the “lower house” of Congress or the National Assembly. However, the nomenclature has stuck in the psyche of the people due to its currency during political discourse and analysis.
Also, there may be reason to believe that due to the nature of Nigeria’s politics, the members of the Senate have gained more traction than those members of the House of Representatives. The Senate, for many political analysts, has become a hub of godfathers and powerful ex-governors who pitch their political strongholds to secure seats and represent one-third of the state. This likely gives them more prominence and political influence over the fate of the state when lobbying for federal resources becomes a scramble. This, compared to the House, shows that members of the Senate may have more political leverage than members of the House.

Unfortunately, the prominence of the Senate is further foregrounded by joint plenary sessions, which, by law, are held in the Senate. When the House of Representatives and the Senate meet for joint plenary, they typically convene in the red chamber. The Senate President also presides over such sessions, while the House of Representatives may play a role in matters concerning the House.

 A bloated Assembly

Some analysts have clamoured for the adoption of a unicameral legislature to cut the cost of governance. Leading voices like the leader of the Take It Back Movement, Omoyele Sowore, asserted that the bicameral structure is costly and wasteful. While some analysts agree with Sowore that these would have displaced the issue of seniority or hierarchy of these senior government officials, the implementation of this statement, some pundits state, may lead to the displacement of many clusters of communities and heighten political tensions.

In 2023, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission disclosed that the 109 Senators receive N1,063,860 as monthly salaries, excluding non-regular allowances such as furniture allowance N6,079,200:00, severance gratuity N6,079,200, and vehicle allowance N8,105,600:00. Such humongous sums led The Economist to describe the National Assembly as the highest paid legislature in the world in 2013. In 2020, N6.58 billion was reported to have been disbursed to pay the salaries and allowances of the 360 members of the House; annually, the nation spent N2.4 billion for the 109 senators.

Available RMAF records show that the Senate President earns 724,570.72, the Deputy Senate President, 673,507.72, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 412,851.66, and the Deputy Speaker, 381,172.40 every month—excluding annual allowances and several perks. In October last year, the National Assembly defended its decision to import 360 Sport Utility Vehicles valued at N57.6 billion for Senators and House of Representatives. They argued that the vehicles would serve them for three years and be efficient and durable in navigating the bad roads in their constituencies. These realities make analysts stress the bloated legislative structure in the country.
  Analysts argue

However, political analysts are divided over the declaration of the different levels of national honours bestowed on Akpabio, Abass, and Kekere-Ekun. Some pundits insist that given the tripartite arms of government, Tinubu heads the presidency, Akpabio heads the legislature, and Kekere-Ekun heads the judiciary; therefore, these three should have distinct honours from their assumed subordinates—Vice President and Speaker House of Representatives. Therefore, the higher honours bestowed on Akpabio and Kekere-Ekun are in order.

On the other hand, other pundits argue that in the hierarchy of leadership, President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are first and second citizens of the country. The Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are third and fourth citizens, while the CJN is the fifth citizen. They stressed that the CJN was lower than the Speaker given this analysis, and therefore, the honour bestowed on Abass denigrated his office given that the Speaker was higher than the Deputy Senate President and the CJN.

Meanwhile, research shows that the Nigerian constitution does not explicitly outline the seniority or hierarchy of these leaders. The President is considered the highest-ranking person in the land, followed closely by the Vice President. The Senate President is not gauged as superior or inferior to the Speaker of the House, and vice versa. The CJN is regarded as the head of the judiciary and is not designated as superior to any of the leaders of the legislative arm.

Experts wade in

Some professors of Political Science in different universities in the country waded into the matter in several interviews with The PUNCH. Professor Oni Abiodun of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, stated that although the argument had no basis given the financial malaise facing Nigerians, the House was lower to the Senate. Oni urged for the scrapping of the bicameral legislature and the creation of a unicameral one.

He also stated that the honours confirm the superiority of the Senate President over the Speaker and implored representatives to test their popularity in their states in the next cycle of elections. The professor also noted that although the constitution did not explicitly prescribe the ranking between the Senate and the House, the Senate was more influential and powerful and has played a more resonant role in Nigeria’s democracy. He also stated that the joint plenary of both houses presided over by the Senate President confirms the superior role of the red chamber.
On the flip side, Oni lamented the crass sleaze, corruption, and wastefulness inherent in Nigeria’s bicameral legislature and called for the structure to be scrapped. Calling for a unicameral structure, he said, “It is too costly; do you know how much is spent to accommodate them? They buy a fleet of cars and have a lot of aides. The structure should be collapsed to reserve the funds spent on humongous salaries. It should be collapsed to have just five legislators per state; it has nothing to do with balanced representation but everything to do with preserving the national purse,” he said.

Professor Patrick Oromareghake of the Dennis Osadebe University, Asaba, Delta State, stated that the issue of inferiority and superiority complex is an African notion in governance. He stated that both chambers, especially the House, have unique legislative responsibilities to the people. For Oromareghake, the ‘House is more penetrative in terms of law-making impact,’ while the Senate plays a conclusive or ‘cementing’ role in the process. He also agrees with Oni that bi-cameral legislature should be scrapped but insists that the House of Representatives be retained while the Senate is scrapped outright.

He said, “The Senate is a waste of resources. It is like a place of showmanship, a place where ex-governors come to display their opulence, rest for a bit, gather resources for the next election, and brood over their political future. What the Senate is doing in terms of lawmaking, the House can also do.”

For Professor Ameachi Egboh of the Nnamdi Azikwe University, Akwa, Anambra State, it is an anomaly to bestow CFR on Abass while the Senate President and his deputy are conferred with higher ranks. He stated that on the organogram of government in the constitution, the Speaker is the 4th citizen of the country, while the CJN is the fifth citizen. Therefore, bestowing a higher honour on the fifth citizen than the fourth is double prejudice. Egboh stressed that the Senate and the House are co-equals despite the fact the Senate President presides in joint plenary. He stated that he is impressed by the House leadership, who have refused to allow the wrong historical perception of being an appendage of the Senate to continue to have a life of its own. He said that previous House leadership had received the lower national honour with equanimity, but the current one has rejected it in unison. He stressed further that the House members are the real representatives of the people because they are closer to the people and should be given their due recognition.

“The right thing should be that the Speaker be bestowed the same national honour as the Senate president. The two houses are co-equal, and such disparity has continued because previous speakers have received the lower honours of CFR without qualms. I am glad that they are unanimously rejecting it this time. In the US, the House is considered more powerful than the Senate because they are closer to the people. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, people think that the Senate is superior because it confirms and ratifies government appointments. For me, the Senate cannot function effectively without the House, although the two chambers work together to make and pass laws.”

Speaking further on the suggestion of scrapping the bicameral legislature for a unicameral constitution, Egboh urged Nigerians not to throw the baby with the bath water. He stressed that the bi-cameral and presidential systems cater to the multi-ethnic nature of the country and preserve the internal sovereignty of communities within the whole. He, however, suggested the option of part-time legislators as a means to cut down on the humongous salaries and allowances of the legislature.

“We need to retool our democracy. If we are adopting the Presidential System from the USA and jettisoning that of the British, we should do it the right way instead of picking and choosing. We should not throw the baby with the bathwater because of the high expenditure of the presidential and unicameral system. The system serves to preserve the internal sovereignty of a multi-ethnic society; scrapping it could lead to anarchy. I suggest that, like the US, we should adopt part-time legislators to save cost,” he said.
The recent national honours controversy not only underscores the friction between Nigeria’s two legislative chambers but also signals deeper issues within the nation’s governance structure. As debates over hierarchy and representation continue, the very framework of Nigeria’s bicameral legislature is being questioned, with calls for reform growing louder. Whether these tensions would lead to greater clarity or further division, they could shape the future of Nigerian democracy, prompting a reevaluation of how power, influence, and national honours are conferred to persons in the public sector.