Presidency apologises for declaring two living men dead in national honours list

The presidency has apologised for wrongly including Reuben Fasoranti and Edwin Madunagu among the posthumous awardees of national honours in President Bola Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech at the national assembly.

Both men are very much alive. Fasoranti leads the Afenifere group, whilst Madunagu works as an author and mathematician.

President Tinubu gave national honours to 66 people on Thursday during his Democracy Day address. These individuals played important roles in Nigeria’s fight for democracy. The ceremony took place at a joint session of the National Assembly.

The president awarded some honours posthumously – meaning after death – to people like Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Humphrey Nwosu, and Kudirat Abiola. However, officials mistakenly put Fasoranti and Madunagu’s names in this posthumous category.

Nigerians quickly noticed the error on social media and began commenting about the mix-up.

Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, called the mistake an “oversight” and issued an apology.

“During his Democracy Day address at the joint session of the National Assembly earlier today, President Bola Tinubu announced a list of pro-democracy activists and national figures to be honoured for their significant contributions to the restoration of democratic governance in Nigeria,” Onanuga said in a statement.

“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.

“We sincerely regret this oversight. We shall make the necessary corrections across all State House digital platforms.”

The presidency promised to fix the error on all official government websites and social media accounts.