Senator Dino Melaye has faulted the award of Grand Commander Of the Federal Republic on late Chief MKO Abiola by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Senator representing Kogi West while raising an order in the Senate, said the move contravenes the National Honours Acts.
The Senator who read out some sections of the Act argued that a dead person cannot be a citizen, and therefore cannot be honoured, as this is clearly stated in the Act.
If you could recall, President Buhari two days ago, announced the conferment of the award of a GCFR on late MKO Abiola the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993, elections, alongside his then running mate, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, and also the late Legal Fani Fawehinmi with GCF. Though the move has been well received by Nigerians, Senator Dino also said they all deserved the Honours, but due process must be followed.
Senator Dino citing some of the chapters from the National Honours Act citing chapters 43(2), said:
Subsection 2 of the act says a person shall be eligible for appointment to any rank or holder unless he is a citizen of Nigeria. A dead man is not a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We should not be emotional about this. The law remains the law.
Despite the award being a posthumous award, the Senator strongly objected, saying the laws of the land must be followed to achieve whatever it is that the President wants to achieve. He said:
Subject to the next notice, a person shall be appointed to a particular rank of an order when the president receives him in person.
Mr. President, they said in person for us to do what we are supposed to do, we would have to amend the provisions of this act because anything we need to do, we have to do in accordance with the provisions of the law.