President Muhammadu Buhari has conferred the national award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
Justice Ariwoola was conferred the award on Tuesday at the International Conference Center, Abuja.
According to the National Honours Award Investiture 2022 Programme, 450 recipients were awarded, making the total number of Nigeria’s national honours awardees to 5,341 since 1963.
Of the 450 recipients, Six were awarded Grand Commanders of the Order of the Niger (GCON), 55 Commanders of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), 74 Members of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), 77 Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).
Others are 110 Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), 55 Members of the Order of the Niger (MON), 65 Commanders of the Order of the Niger (CON), Four Federal Republic Medal- First Class (FRM I) and Four Federal Republic Medal- Second Class FRM II.
The 2022 list includes politicians, public officers, security officials, diplomats, academia, businessmen, traditional rulers, religious leaders and legal practitioners among others.
The six conferred with GCON are Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan; Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; immediate past CJN, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad (Rtd); former Minister of Finance and currently Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala; a former Minister of Environment and currently UN, Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina J. Mohammed and former President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prof. Tijani Muhammad-Bande.
Also honoured are Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara; former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami (Retd), Appeal Court president, Monica Mensem, among others and late Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari, Abba Kyari (posthumous) received a CFR award.
Other recipients include NBA President Yakubu Maikyau, Jim Ovia, Chairman of Zenith Bank; Herbert Wigwe, Access Bank CEO, and Mike Ozekhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the President’s Chief of State Ibrahim Gambari were also in attendance at the event which was held in Abuja.