President Bola Tinubu has conferred the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, a retired colonel and prominent June 12 advocate.
Tinubu announced the honour on Thursday during the inauguration of a 300-bed hospital and vocational training institute in Kaduna.
Umar, a former military officer and outspoken critic of successive governments, was described by the president as a “soldier of democracy”.
Tinubu said Umar’s name was inadvertently left out of the list of June 12 honourees announced on Democracy Day.
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“Let me use this opportunity to correct an omission. Some of those people that I missed out during the June 12 broadcast at the National Assembly is Colonel Dangiwa,” he said.
“Today, let me correct that by honouring him with national recognition of CFR.”
Umar, who served as military governor of Kaduna and later became a vocal advocate for democratic reforms, was a key figure in the campaign against the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
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His omission from the June 12 honours had sparked criticism from some civil society actors and democracy advocates.
Tinubu said the national honour was a recognition of Umar’s courage and steadfastness in the struggle for democracy.
On June 12, Tinubu conferred national honours on 66 individuals who played defining roles in Nigeria’s struggle for democracy.
The president announced the honours while addressing a joint sitting of the national assembly.
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Among the honourees were Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Humphrey Nwosu, and Kudirat Abiola, posthumously recognised for their critical roles.
