Ebun Francis|
Femi Falana, human right activist and a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), on Thursday said that President Muhammadu Buhari has the power to confer national honours on deserving Nigerians, dead or alive.
The fiery lawyer was reacting to Wednesday’s statement credited to Nigeria’s former chief Justice, Alfa Belgore, who described as illegal, the conferment of Nigeria’s highest national honour on the late MKO Abiola.
Also on Thursday, Duro Melaye, the Senator representing Kogi West in the nationally said on the floor of the Senate that President Buhari cannot confer GCFR honour on a dead person.
But in a statement on Thursday night, Falana said that Justice Belgore failed to refer to any section of the National Honours Act or any other law that has been violated by the president.
Falana said, “With profound respect to the Honourable Justice Alfa Belgore, the National Honours Act has not prohibited or restricted the powers of the president to confer national honours on deserving Nigerian citizens, dead or alive.
“No doubt, paragraph 2 of the Honours Warrant made pursuant to the National Honours Act provides that ‘a person shall be appointed to a particular rank of an order when he receives from the president in person, at an investiture held for the purpose…’ But paragraph 3 thereof has given the president the unqualified discretion ‘to dispense with the requirement of paragraph 2 in such manner as may be specified in the direction.’
“Therefore, since the national awards conferred on Chief Abiola and Chief Fawehinmi cannot be received by them in person the president may permit their family members to receive same on their behalf.”
Also on the legality of the June 12 holiday declared by the president, which some Senators raised on the floor of the Senate on Thursday, on the grounds that the approval of the national assembly was not sought and obtained, Falana argued that the President was in order too.
He said, “Furthermore, section 2 (1) of the Public Holidays Act stipulates that in addition to the holidays mentioned in the schedule to the act, the president may appoint a special day to be kept as a public holiday either throughout Nigeria or in any part thereof. It is crystal clear that the president is not required by law to seek and obtain the approval of the national assembly before declaring a public holiday in the country.”
He concluded that in view of the combined effect of the National Honours Act and the Public Holidays Act, the legal validity of the well deserved awards and the historic holiday has not been impugned by the President.