Tinubu should not give GCFR, GCON national honours to politicians: Peter Obi
Peter Obi has accused Bola Tinubu and previous Nigerian presidents of giving national honours to the wrong set of people: politicians. The former Anambra governor, therefore, urged the federal government to change the modalities for conferring national honours.
Speaking at the public presentation of ‘The Chronicles of a Legend’, a biography of Gabriel Igbinedion, on Thursday, Mr Obi said, “The GCFR and GCONs should be entrepreneurs and productive people, not politicians.
“We have to change the way we honour people.”
Mr Obi lauded Mr Igbinedion’s indelible contributions to the development of aviation, education, and cultural preservation, stressing that the philanthropist deserved more celebrations and recognition.
“We live in a country where we celebrate people who are supposed not to be celebrated. If we do, the celebration we are giving him today would have been more.
“If we had been a country that was productive, over 20 million Nigerians would have been employed because Igbinedion employed over 17,000 Nigerians,” the former presidential candidate added.
Mr Obi’s comments came amid the cash prizes and national awards conferred on Super Falcons for winning the Africa Cup of Nations.
This gesture had generated mixed reactions from Nigerians who advocated the same for several other Nigerians, especially in the education and security sectors.
Last month, Mr Tinubu conferred national awards on several Nigerians, both living and deceased, for their various contributions to the country’s growth and development.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
Cross River govt exempts women, elderly drivers from vehicle registration, levies
The Cross River government has exempted women in commercial transport and men aged 60 and above from paying vehicle registration and daily operational levies.
Politics
INEC says Osun residents’ PVCs ready for collection ahead of governorship poll
INEC has announced that PVCs of eligible voters who registered or updated their records during the recent CVR exercise in the state are ready for collection.
Sport
13-year-old boy killed as Spaniards celebrate 2026 World Cup win
A 13-year-old boy was killed after the Árbol Gordo fountain collapsed as football fans gathered to celebrate the country’s World Cup win.
States
Gas tanker leak contained in Kaduna: KADSEMA
The executive secretary of KADSEMA, Usman Mazadu, said the agency has contained a compressed gas tanker leak in Kaduna South.
World
Iran War: Three U.S. servicemen killed
Another American service member has been reported killed by fragments of a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq, raising the number of U.S. troops killed last week to three.
Anti-Corruption
NBA president-elect submits self to post-election audit amid fraud, rigging allegations
Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, the president-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association, says she is ready to subject herself to a post-election audit following her victory.
