Tinubu Awards National Honours To 1,062 Individuals In Three Years

President Bola Tinubu has conferred national honours on at least 1,062 Nigerians and foreign nationals, both living and deceased, within nearly three years in office, according to findings.

According to IReporter Online, this figure surpasses the total number of national honours awarded during the eight-year tenure of his predecessor, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, and is more than three times the honours issued during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s major 2014 investiture.

Investigations revealed that the largest single batch under the Tinubu administration was approved on October 9, 2025, when the National Council of State endorsed the report of the National Honours Award Committee covering the 2024 and 2025 cycles. The Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, Dr Emanso Umobong, disclosed that over 5,000 nominations were screened, with 824 recipients recommended for regular honours and 135 for special presidential awards, bringing the total for that batch to 959.

The committee responsible for the awards was reconstituted in August 2021 under the leadership of Justice Sidi Bage.

Beyond that batch, President Tinubu has also honoured several individuals and groups across different sectors. On February 13, 2024, members and officials of the Super Eagles were decorated with the Member of the Order of the Niger after their silver-medal finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. They were also granted plots of land and housing units in the Federal Capital Territory.

On March 17, 2024, national honours were conferred on 17 soldiers killed in Delta State, alongside welfare packages for their families, including housing, educational scholarships for their children, and expedited payment of death benefits.

Further recognitions include the posthumous award to the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, in November 2024, and a Gallantry Award to Brig. Gen. Musa Uba during the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony.

On June 12, 2025, during Democracy Day celebrations, over 80 democracy activists and figures were honoured, including Prof. Wole Soyinka, the late Kudirat Abiola, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Femi Falana (SAN), and veteran journalist Sam Amuka-Pemu. Several recipients also received presidential pardons.

The President has also extended honours to foreign nationals. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2024, while Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates received the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2025 for contributions to health and development initiatives in Nigeria. Lebanese-Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury was also conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2026.

The honours system, established under the National Honours Act of 1964 and administered by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, remains the President’s exclusive prerogative after screening by the National Honours Award Committee.

Historical records show that former President Muhammadu Buhari honoured 447 recipients in his major 2022 investiture, while Goodluck Jonathan decorated 304 persons in 2014. Under Olusegun Obasanjo, at least 449 individuals received honours across two ceremonies, while Umaru Musa Yar’Adua awarded 278 persons in 2008. Since inception in 1963, approximately 6,400 individuals have received national honours in Nigeria.