DESPITE denial by the federal government on the controversial national honours recipients, one of the sources familiar with the development has insisted the list in the public space is genuine.
The ICIR had reported about the controversial list of 437 Nigerians who are to be conferred with various national honours by President Muhamadu Buhari at a ceremony slated for October 11 in Abuja.
Nigerian award-winning writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and some of Buhari’s ministers were among the nominees. The list has been attracting more knocks than kudos.
But in a statement on Monday, the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs described the list circulated as fake.
The ministry’s spokesperson Julie Jacobs noted that while it was true that the president would honour some deserving Nigerians, the authentic list would only be published at the appropriate time.
Jacobs stated, “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs has been drawn to a purported list of nominees for National Honours being circulated by some online media organisations.
“While it is true that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, will be conferring National Honours on deserving Nigerians and friends of Nigeria on 11th October 2022, the authentic list of nominees is yet to be released to the public. The Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs will publish the list at the appropriate time and medium.”
He urged Nigerians to disregard the list in circulation.
When contacted, one of the media houses that published the names told The ICIR that it got the list from some “critical stakeholders within the institution”, which it failed to disclose for security purposes.
“We got the list from a reliable source and the institution’s critical stakeholders, who have fed us with some of the credible stories we have published over the years,” it said.
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