President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday during his Democracy Day speech at the National Assembly conferred national honours on two living Nigerian icons, Pa Reuben Fasoranti and Dr. Edwin Madunagu, under the Posthumous Honours category.
NewsClick Nigeria reports that the Posthumous Honours category was created to recognised patriotic efforts of late Nigerians.
Fasoranti, the leader of the Afenifere was awarded with Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), while Madunagu, a renowed professor of Botany, was awarded with the commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) award.
However, the presidency has issued a formal apology citing an oversight for the error which drew swift public attention and confusion,.
In a statement released hours later by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the government admitted the error and said it was already working to correct it across all State House platforms.
“Under the Posthumous Award category, the names of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the Afenifere leader, and Dr. Edwin Madunagu were incorrectly included. Both distinguished individuals are very much alive and, therefore, should not have appeared in the posthumous category.”
Onanuga said.
He described the blunder as “an oversight” and assured Nigerians that necessary updates would be made to reflect the correct status of the honourees.
“We sincerely regret this oversight. We shall make the necessary corrections across all State House digital platforms,” the statement read.
