The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has slammed President Bola Tinubu for conferring Nigeria’s second-highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The opposition party described the move as a “misplaced priority” and questioned the criteria for granting such recognition to a foreign leader.
According to Timothy Osadolor, the Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, President Tinubu’s action was unnecessary and failed to address pressing national issues.
“It’s not something you dish out for the sake of friendship. I don’t know what the Indian Prime Minister has done to warrant such an honour. This is the second-highest honour in the land, and it’s a misplacement of priorities,” Osadolor stated.
He added, “I would have thought that the President should have asked the Indian Prime Minister how the Indian economy has been able to move away from being the poverty capital of the world to being one of the fastest growing economies in the world now. The biggest tech moguls across the globe at the moment are all Indians.
“Just look at Microsoft, the Silicon Valley in America and startups. They are all being run and set up by Indians. I would have thought that Tinubu, in a bid to shore up the lacuna his cabinet lacks, would have been humble enough to ask the Prime Minister to offer him a clue as to how to help his government and Nigerians. Not dishing out unnecessary awards that the man doesn’t need other than for pictures and commentary.”
However, Nze Chidi Duru, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), defended the President’s decision, arguing that it was within his power to confer such an award.
Duru said that the PDP should focus on providing constructive criticism rather than “chasing shadows”.
He said, “I think the question to ask is, whether there is a precedent in this. Then the next question is if it is within the confines of the power of Mr President to confer such an award. If it is, is the process approved? Once all these questions are answered in the affirmative, it then becomes the discretion of Mr President to confer such honorary award on whom he pleases.
“Having said that, it is also important to underscore the fact that we will need to go beyond the politics of emotions to begin to address the issue. So, the PDP is more than welcome to continue to play the role of opposition, which is admirable.
“However, we like to see a situation whereby what they put on the table is, with respect, how we can make Nigeria a lot better and more improved that will address the issues facing us as a country. I am talking about things like how do we put food on the table, create a better environment for business to thrive and create a better level playing field. These are things that should worry any of us than to chase shadow.”
Recall that on Sunday, President Tinubu bestowed the GCON honour on Prime Minister Modi in Abuja, citing Nigeria’s excellent relationship with India and the country’s historical achievements.
Modi expressed gratitude and pledged to support Nigeria with 20 tonnes of relief materials following recent floods.
“We had a very productive discussion with President Tinubu. We talked about adding momentum to our strategic partnership. There is immense scope for ties to flourish even further in sectors like defence, energy, technology, trade, health, education and more,” Modi said.