PDP tackles Tinubu over conferment of GCON on Indian PM

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated President Bola Tinubu for conferring Nigeria’s second-highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

NewsBand reported on Sunday that President Tinubu bestowed the GCON honour on Prime Minister Modi in Abuja, citing Nigeria’s excellent relationship with India and the country’s historical achievements.

Modi expressed gratitude and pledged to support Nigeria with 20 tonnes of relief materials following recent floods.

“We had a very productive discussion with President Tinubu. We talked about adding momentum to our strategic partnership. There is immense scope for ties to flourish even further in sectors like defence, energy, technology, trade, health, education and more,” Modi said

But PDP described the move as a “misplaced priority” and queried the criteria for granting such recognition to a foreign leader.

Mr Timothy Osadolor, the Deputy National Youth Leader of the opposition party, said that Mr Tinubu’s action was unnecessary and failed to address pressing national issues.

“It’s not something you dish out for the sake of friendship. I don’t know what the Indian Prime Minister has done to warrant such an honour. This is the second-highest honour in the land, and it’s a misplacement of priorities,” Osadolor stated.

He added, “I would have thought that the President should have asked the Indian Prime Minister how the Indian economy has been able to move away from being the poverty capital of the world to being one of the fastest growing economies in the world now. The biggest tech moguls across the globe at the moment are all Indians.

“Just look at Microsoft, the Silicon Valley in America and startups. They are all being run and set up by Indians. I would have thought that Tinubu, in a bid to shore up the lacuna his cabinet lacks, would have been humble enough to ask the Prime Minister to offer him a clue as to how to help his government and Nigerians. Not dishing out unnecessary awards that the man doesn’t need other than for pictures and commentary.”

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook