Former presidential aspirant and public coverage advocate, Funso Doherty, has known as on Nigeria’s Home of Representatives to analyze the reported conferment of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on businessman Gilbert Chagoury.
This was contained in an open letter dated January 24, 2026, addressed to the Speaker of the Home of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
Doherty questioned each the substance and the process surrounding the nationwide honour, which was reportedly awarded by President Bola Tinubu on January 8, 2026, allegedly to mark Chagoury’s birthday.
In keeping with Doherty, the method during which the award turned public information was itself uncommon.
Slightly than being introduced via an official presidential or authorities channel, the conferment solely surfaced greater than per week later, following a congratulatory message issued by a personal particular person on January 19.
“This mode of disclosure is troubling,” Doherty mentioned, particularly given what he described because the extensively reported shut private relationship between the award recipient and the President.
“As of at this time, there is no such thing as a proof that any such warrant was issued or gazetted in respect of this conferment,” Doherty mentioned, including that no official clarification has been supplied for the obvious departure from established statutory process.
Doherty additionally highlighted inconsistencies in an Instrument of Conferment presently circulating within the public area.
The doc states that the award was given in Abuja on January 8, 2026, beneath the President’s hand and the Public Seal of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Gilbert Chagoury.
The honour was reportedly awarded in Abuja on January 8, 2026.
Public consciousness of the conferment gained momentum after Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola issued a congratulatory message describing Chagoury as a mentor and function mannequin, citing his decades-long affect on Lagos’ city improvement and Nigeria’s broader {economic} development.
The GCON sits just under the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR) and has traditionally been awarded to distinguished Nigerians and international leaders whose contributions are thought-about nationally vital.
GCON is Nigeria’s second-highest nationwide honour, usually awarded to senior public officers, jurists, and international leaders with notable contributions to Nigeria or international diplomacy.
Buhari described Mohammed’s tenure as one marked by contributions to the judiciary, democratic governance, and nationwide improvement.