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FG confirms list of
191 national honour Awardees
By Bassey Udo
Snr
Correspondent, Abuja
Former Head of Interim
National Government (ING) Ernest Shonekan and American-based Nigerian computer
wiz kid Philip Chukwura Emeagwali are among a list of 191 nominees announced on
Thursday by the government for award in this year’s national honours.
The list, which
includes seven foreigners and 30 women, shows Shonekan as the only nominee for
the conferment of the prestigious title of Grand Commander of the Order of the
Federal Republic (GCFR), Nigeria’s highest national honour.
This confirms our
story exclusively published on Thursday September 30. The full list of the
nominees was also published in the following edition.
Writer Chinua Achebe
and Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu are among six nominees for the award
of the title of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), which
also include Yahaya Abubakar, the Etsu Nupe, Sonny Odogwu, publisher of the
defunct Post Express newspapers, Alfred N. Achebe, Obi of Onitsha and Alwali Kazir.
Addressing journalists
on Thursday in Abuja while formally releasing the list, the Minister of
Inter-Governmental Affairs, Youth Development and Special Duties, Frank Nweke
Jnr., said 23 nominees were harvested for the award of the title of Commander
of the Order of the Niger (CON), 48 for Officer of the Order of the Federal
Republic (OFR), 56 for Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), 44 are to
receive the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) and 13
for Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).
Twelve others would
receive first-class and second-class service medals during a grand investiture
ceremony planned for December 16 to be done by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The nominees were
short-listed from over 1,504 applications received by the awards committee,
which took cognisance of gender representation, young achievers and private
sector contribution in the selection.
Other criteria used
include achievements by Nigerian nationals resident abroad as well as foreigners
living in Nigeria who have made positive contributions to the nation’s
development. To sustain the credibility of the awards, a new set of objectives
and criteria were introduced to evaluate the existing ones contained in the
enabling Act. These include character, career, education, outstanding
achievement, contribution to Nigeria, quality and type of nomination and
recognition.
To avoid selecting
persons with criminal and corruption records, Nweke disclosed that apart from
the State Security Service (SSS), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission
(ICPC) was co-opted into the committee, while the list of nominees was
circulated to both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for vetting.
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