* Nigerian National Honours and their meaning
The contributions of worthy Nigerians to national development will soon be appreciated through the award of National Honours, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.
Receiving a delegation of members of Buhari Support Group Centre (BSGC) at State House, Abuja, Thursday, the President said the intention of the administration was to “leave a better country for our children, and for coming generations,” and those who partake in such national effort would be duly rewarded with National Honours.
“Many people are qualified for such honours. We are looking at it, and we will appreciate the contributions of such people,” President Buhari said.
He commended members of BSGC, who have made immense personal sacrifices to support him since he joined partisan politics, adding that they did so out of personal conviction, “because I’m not known to be a very generous person.”
The President added: “What you are doing can’t be materially compensated. You are doing it out of conviction, at the expense of your pockets, and it is God that will reward you.”
Speaking, Director General of BSGC, Umaru Dembo, said the group had sensitized Nigerians on the need to get their voters cards, keep them safe, “and voting the right candidates during elections.”
President Buhari was decorated as Grand Patron of the Buhari Support Group Centre, and also presented with two books and discs done by the group.
Nigerian National Honours and their meaning
Nigerian National Honours are a set of orders and decorations
conferred upon Nigerians and friends of Nigeria every year. They were
instituted by the National Honors Act No. 5 of 1964, during the Nigerian First
Republic , to honour Nigerians who have rendered service to the benefit of the
nation.
The Nigerian National Honours, in descending order of importance, are:
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)
Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON)
Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR)
Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR)
Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)
The GCFR and GCON are customarily respectively bestowed on former occupants of
the office of President of Nigeria and Vice President of Nigeria including
former military heads of state of Nigeria and Chiefs of General Staff. The GCON
is also customarily bestowed on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President
of the Nigerian Senate during their first year in office, while the CON is customarily
bestowed on Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
