19th September, 2014
Funsho Arogundade
Nollywood greats, Joke Silva, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Kenneth Nnebue are among 305 Nigerians and friends of the country that will be honoured with various national honours by President Goodluck Jonathan.
In the list of 2013/2014 national honours award recipients announced yesterday, the thespians will be bestowed with the national honours of Member of the Federal Republic, MFR.
Also to be decorated with the MFR honours are Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, human rights activist; Mrs. Maiden Ibru, publisher, Gurdian Newspaper; Chief (Mrs.) Leila Fowler, legal practitioner; Blessing Okagbare, Gold Medallist in the 2014 Commonwealth Games; Moji Makanjuola, journalist; Mrs. Katherine Phillip Adamu, Chief Catering Officer, State House, Abuja; Hamalai Jummai Gwalem, House keeper, Presidential Wing, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport; and Mr. Imeh Usuah, a Taxi driver among others.
A statement signed by Dr. Adeyemo M. Tunde, Director (Special Duties Office) on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said the recipients will be honoured at the Investiture ceremony holding on Monday, 29 September at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
Omotola could not be reached for her comment as she’s in United States for the promotion of her new flick, “Blood In The Lagoon”.
Speaking with our correspondent Friday morning, Joke Silva said she was very excited to be considered for a national honour by her country.
She described the national honour as an “awesome birthday present” as they will be decorated on 29 September, her birthday.
“I feel so blessed and honoured to be counted worthy. It is an awesome feeling. I am so happy and consider it an awesome birthday present as we will be bestowed with the honours on my birthday’s date,” Silva said.
Kenneth Nnebue hit the limelight with his role in the ground-breaking movie, “Living in Bondage” regarded as the flick that led to the birth of Nollywood.
The three new recipients will be joining other notable figures in Nollywood that have been honoured with the national honours in the past.
Meanwhile, despite their inability to contain the security challenges in the country, President Goodluck Jonathan approved the conferment of higher category of Nigeria’s National Honours on Nigeria’s security chiefs.
The security chiefs are among the 305 personalities to be conferred with the 2013/2014 National Honours at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
As announced on Thursday in a statement signed by Adeyemo Tunde, Director(Special Duties Office) in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, will lead other awardees that will receive the highest honours category of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) at the investiture.
The CFR which is third in Nigeria’s hierarchy of national award is the highest honour that will be conferred this year.
The other security chiefs that the President will confer the CFR on are the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshall Adesola Amosu; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba; National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd); Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ayo Oke; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Brig-Gen. Jones Arogbofa (retd).