Order of the Niger

The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest national award in Nigeria.^[1] It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country.

Order of the Niger
Star and ribbon of the 2 divisions
Awarded by  Nigeria
Type	Order
Awarded for	Services to the nation
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	President of Nigeria
Grades	Grand Commander (GCON) Commander (CON) Officer (OON) Member (MON)
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Federal Republic
(civil division) (military division) Ribbon bar of the order

The order takes its name from the Niger River

Award

The two highest honours, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic and Grand Commander in the Order of the Niger, are awarded to the president and vice-president respectively. The presiding judge in the Supreme Court and the chairman of the Senate are qualitative and ex officio commander of the Order of the Niger.

Grades

Nigeria followed the British example in the form and structure of the order. Similarly, there are post-nominal letters for members of the Order of the Niger.

• Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON)
• Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON)
• Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
• Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)

The order has a Civil Division and a Military Division. The ribbon of the latter division has a small red line in the middle.

Notable recipients

Notable recipients of the award include:^[2][3][4]

S/NO	NAMES	STATUS	Sector	Class of medal
1	Muhammad Sani Ahmed	Chairman Jamesh Company Limited	Private	MFR
2	Aliko Dangote	Chairman of Dangote Group	Private	GCON
3	Bello Maitama Yusuf	Former Internal Affairs Minister	Public	GCON
4	Aminu Tambuwal	Former Governor, Sokoto State	Public	CFR
5	Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN	Attorney General of the Federation	Public	CFR
6	Oluseyi Petinrin	Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)	Public	CFR
7	Muhammadu Dikko	Chief of Air Staff (CAS)	Public	CFR
8	Azubuike Ihejirika	Chief of Army Staff (COAS)	Public	CFR
9	Hafiz Ringim	Former Inspector General of Police (IGP)	Public	CFR
10	Abdullahi Dikko	Former Comptroller General of Customs (CGC)	Public	OFR
11	Aloma Mariam Mukhtar	Former Justice of the Supreme Court	Public	GCON
12	Victoria Gowon	Former First Lady of Nigeria	Public	CFR
13	Bolaji Akinyemi	Professor of Political Science, and Former Minister, External Affairs	Public	CFR
14	Chinua Achebe	Scholar, and a eminent figure of modern African literature.	Private	CFR
15	Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi III	The Olowo of Owo, Ondo State	Public	CFR
16	Tony Elumelu	Philanthropist	Private	CON
17	Ahmed Idris Wase	Former Deputy Speaker House of Representatives	Public	CON
18	Oba Otudeko	Founder and chairman of the Honeywell Group and Oba Otudeko Foundation	Private	CON
19	Akin Mabogunje	Geographer Consultant and First African President of the International Geographical Union.	Private and Public	CON
20	Peter Obi	Former Governor, Anambra State and 2023 Labor Party Presidential Candidate	Public	CON
21	Liyel Imoke	Former Governor, Cross River State	Public	CON
22	Adams Oshiomhole	Former Governor, Edo State and Senator, Edo North Central	Public	CON
23	Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa	Former Governor of Kaduna State	Public	CON
24	Ibrahim Shehu Shema	Former Governor of Katsina Staff	Public	CON
25	Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu	Former Governor of Niger State	Public	CON
26	Rotimi Amaechi	Former Governor of Rivers State and Former Minister of Transportation	Public	CON
27	Godswill Akpabio	President of the 10th Nigerian Senate	Public	CON
28	Sule Lamido	Former Governor, Jigawa State	Public	CON
29	Abba Kyari	Former Governor North Central State	Public	CON
30	Chukwuemeka Ezeife	Former Governor Anambra State	Public	CON
31	Olusegun Agagu	Former Governor of Ondo State, and renowned Geologist	Public	CON
32	Isiaka Adeleke	Former Governor, Osun State, and former Senator, Osun West	Public	CON
33	Lam Adesina	Former Governor of Oyo State	Public	CON
34	Bukar Abba Ibrahim	Former Governor of Yobe State	Public	CON
35	Rufus Ada George	Former Governor, Rivers State	Public	CON
36	Atedo Peterside	Founder, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Anap Business Jets Limited, and The Atedo N. A. Peterside Foundation.	Private	CON
37	Sam Ohuabunwa	Founder and Former CEO of Neimeth Pharmaceutical, and Former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.	Private	OFR
38	Tony Ezenna	Founder, Orange Drugs Nigeria Limited	Private	OFR
39	Iyorwuese Hagher	Former Minister of State for Health/Power and Steel, and Ambassador to Mexico and High Commissioner to Canada[5]	Public	OON
40	Victor Olaiya	Renowned Musician, and Trumpeter	Private[6][7]	OON
41	Francesca Yetunde Emanuel	Former Permanent Secretary, Public Service Department of the Cabinet Office	Public	CON
42	Stella Oduah	Former Minister of Aviation	Public	OON
43	Tobi Amusan	World, Commonwealth and African champion of the 100 meters hurdles	Private	OON
44	Iyin Aboyeji	Former CEO, Flutterwave & Co-founder, Andela	Private	OON
45	Teni	Singer, Songwriter and Entertainer.	Private	MON
46	Emeka Okwuosa	Chairman/GCEO, OilServ Limited	Private	CON
47	Habeeb Okunola	CEO, TILT Group	Private	MON
48	Abike Dabiri	Chairman/CEO of Nigerian Diaspora Commission	Public	OON
48	Joseph Oqua Ansa	Former Senator, Cross River South	Public	MON
49	Asisat Oshoala	Athlete	Sport	MON
50	Gabriel Ogbechie	Founder GMD, Rainoil Limited	Private	OON
51	Nimi Briggs	Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and, Former Vice Chancellor, University of Port- Harcourt, Rivers State	Public	OON
52	Kayode Ajulo	Lawyer, arbitrator & civil rights activist	Private	OON
53	Davido	Singer, songwriter, record producer	Private	OON
54	Charles Okpaleke	Nigerian businessman and film producer	Private	OON
55	Ado Bayero	Emir of Kano	Public	CFR
56	Owen Omogiafo	President/GCEO, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp)	Private	OON
57	Dr. F.B.A. Coker	Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, businessman and Chairman of Victoria Island Consultancy and Hospital Services	Private	OON
58	Chief H.T.O. Coker	Private Attorney in Admiralty, Energy and Aviation Law	Private	OON
59	Chief Erhabor Ogieva Emokpae	Former National Artist of Nigeria	Public	OON
60	Sani Umar Rijiyar Lemo	Salafism Preacher in Nigeria	Private	OON
61	Francis Uzoho, Ola Aina, Zaidu Sanusi, Alhassan Yusuf, William Troost-Ekong, Semi Ajayi, Ahmed Musa, Frank Onyeka, Victor Osimhen, Joe Aribo, Samuel Chukwueze, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Bruno Onyemaechi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, Olorunleke Ojo, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, Paul Onuachu, Chidozie Awaziem, Calvin Bassey, Kenneth Omeruo, Stanley Nwabali, Terem Moffi, Raphael Onyedika, as 2023 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up	footballers	Sport	MON
62	Dosu Joseph	footballer	Sport	MON
63	Efe Ambrose	footballer	Sport	MON

References

1. "National Honours Act" (PDF). Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
2. "Full list of 2010 and 2011 Nigeria National Honours Award recipients". Ogala.wordpress.com. 2011-11-14. Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
3. "List of Nominees For National Award – 2022" (PDF). Premium Times. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
4. "FULL LIST: Okonjo-Iweala, Abba Kyari... FG nominates 437 persons for national honours". TheCable. 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
5. "Office of the Pro-Chancellor | Afe Babalola University". Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
6. "Victor Olaiya: Nigeria's 'evil genius' trumpeter who influenced Fela Kuti". Archived 2021-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, BBC, 21 March 2020
7. "Victor Olaiya, Veteran Highlife Musician Dies At 89". Archived 2021-08-29 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Independent, 12 February 2020

External links

• World Medals Index, Nigeria: Order of the Niger