Funso Doherty, who wants to be governor of Lagos State, has asked the National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives, to look into the recent awarding of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to Mr. Gilbert Chagoury by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This was reportedly done in connection with Chagoury’s birthday on January 8, 2026.
In an open letter to Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Doherty, a member of the Lagos State branch of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the request.
The Guardian says that the letter was also sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Attorney-General of the Federation, who is also the Registrar of National Honours.
Doherty’s letter asked the National Assembly to use its constitutional oversight powers to look into issues related to national honors, especially those of the Grand Commander rank, which he said are directly related to the values, integrity, and collective honor of the nation.
The letter, which was called “Re: Recent reported conferment of GCON national honour on Mr Gilbert Chagoury,” said that “The Presidency is reported to have recently confirmed the conferment by Mr President of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) National Honour on Mr Gilbert Chagoury, allegedly on the occasion of his birthday, January 8, 2026.”
“In addition to worries regarding the substantive merits of this conferment—about which various serious and reasonable public objections have already been raised—the circumstances underlying the award create other issues that the Honourable House should look into.
“First, it didn’t seem like the public learned about the conferment through any formal presidential or government channel. Instead, the honor only came to light by chance when a private person sent a note of congratulations on Monday, January 19, 2026, more than a week after the award was supposed to be given out.
“This strange way of revealing this is concerning, especially since there have been many reports of a close personal relationship between the award recipient and the President.”
Doherty said, “I respectfully call upon the National Assembly, and in particular the House of Representatives, to look into this matter as part of its constitutional oversight duties.” Concerns over national honors, particularly those of the esteemed level of Grand Commander, directly reflect the principles, integrity, and collective honor of our nation.
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