SPOTTED: Tinubu awards Labaran Maku OON — 11 years after he received higher CON

On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu conferred national honours on 66 Nigerians in recognition of their service to the nation.

Among the recipients announced by the president, as he addressed a joint session of the senate and house of representatives, was Labaran Maku, a former minister of information.

Maku was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) — 11 years after he received a higher award of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

In 2014, under former President Goodluck Jonathan, Maku was conferred with CON, which ranks above OON in the national honours pecking order.

The CON is typically reserved for senior public servants, ministers, governors, and other high-ranking figures, while the OON is a tier below.

The CON ranks above the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), which itself precedes the OON.

Over 48 hours later, the presidency is yet to comment on the apparent downgrade in Maku’s national honour.

The presidency also wrongly included Reuben Fasoranti and Edwin Madunagu among the posthumous awardees of national honours — but later apologised for the error.

In the past, speakers of the house of representatives were typically honoured with the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), which ranks just below the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

However, in October 2024, the house of representatives rejected the CFR honour proposed for Tajudeen Abbas, its speaker, after the federal government announced plans that Tinubu would confer it on him.

On Thursday, bowing to pressure from the house, Tinubu upgraded the recognition and decorated Abbas and Senate President Godswill Akpabio with the GCON — the second-highest national honour.

WHO IS MAKU?

Maku served as minister of information between 2010 and 2014, first under ex-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later under Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2015, Maku defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) after losing the PDP ticket for the Nasarawa governorship poll.

He ran for governor on the APGA platform in 2015 and 2019 but lost both elections.