Popular Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) on Thursday responded to claim by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore that the posthumous award of GCFR to the presumed winner of the June 12 elections by President Muhammadu Buhari was illegal, and in breach of the National Honours Act.
The fiery lawyer in a statement issued to newsmen said the President's was totally in order and does not violate a section of the ACT as Belgore claims. He said while the former Justice relied on Paragraph 2 of the Act which says national award must be received in person to weave his argument, Paragraph 3 of the same Act gives the President the powers to give such award to a representatives.
“With profound respect to the honourable Justice Alfa Belgore, the National Honours Act has not prohibited or restricted the powers of the President to confer national honours on deserving Nigerian citizens, dead or alive.
“No doubt, paragraph 2 of the Honours Warrant made pursuant to the National Honours Act provides that ‘a person shall be appointed to a particular rank of an Order when he receives from the President in person, at an investiture held for the purpose.
“But paragraph 3 thereof has given the President the unqualified discretion ‘to dispense with the requirement of paragraph 2 in such manner as may be specified in the direction’. Therefore, since the national awards conferred on Chief Abiola and Chief Fawehinmi cannot be received by them in person, the President may permit their family members to receive same on their behalf.”
On the controversy surrounding the declaration of June 12 as the nation's new Democracy Day, he said the President was also in order.
“Furthermore, Section 2 (1) of the Public Holidays Act stipulates that in addition to the holidays mentioned in the Schedule to the Act, the President may appoint a special day to be kept as a public holiday either throughout Nigeria or in any part thereof.
“It is crystal clear that the President is not required by law to seek and obtain the approval of the National Assembly before declaring a public holiday in the country.
“In view of the combined effect of the National Honours Act and the Public Holidays Act, the legal validity of the well-deserved awards and the historic holiday has not been impugned in any manner whatsoever.”
