By Emmanuel Uzondu
President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, listed two living Nigerian icons, Pa Reuben Fasoranti and Dr. Edwin Madunagu, under the Posthumous Honours category during his Democracy Day speech at the National Assembly.
This was admitted by the presidency in a statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
There was confusion as the president mentioned the two names among the dead.
However, in a statement issued by Onanuga, the government admitted the error and said it was already working to correct it across all State House platforms.
He said, “under the Posthumous Award category, the names of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the Afenifere leader, and Dr. Edwin Madunagu were incorrectly included. Both distinguished individuals are very much alive and, therefore, should not have appeared in the posthumous category.”
He described the blunder as “an oversight” and assured Nigerians that necessary updates would be made to reflect the correct status of the honourees.
He added that, “We sincerely regret this oversight. We shall make the necessary corrections across all State House digital platforms.”
This is not the first time such an error is coming in the presidency.
During President Muhammadu Buhari administration, he gave appointment to five dead persons in 2017.
They included Francis Okpozo, a senator in the second republic; Donald Ugbaja, a retired deputy inspector-general of police; Ahmed Bunza, sole administrator of Jega local government area of Kebbi state, Christopher Utov, a former proprietor of Fidei Polytechnic, Gboko; and Kabir Umar, a former emir of Katagum in Bauchi state.
Then in 2020, he yet appointed a dead person in the Federal Character Commission, FCC, in the person of late Tobias Chukwuemeka Okwuru, who was from Amudo in Ezza south local government area, Ebonyi state.
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