Tinubu apologizes to former military governor, announces national honour

President Bola Tinubu has extended an apology to retired Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, former military governor of Kaduna State, for omitting his name from the list of June 12 national honourees announced on Democracy Day.

The apology and subsequent announcement of a national honour were made during the commissioning of a 300-bed hospital and vocational training institute in Kaduna on Thursday.

According to a brief statement posted on X by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu announced conferment of the title of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Umar.

He said:”President Tinubu honours Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (Rtd), a June 12 campaigner, with the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). President Tinubu announced the honour today in an address at the commissioning of a 300-bed hospital and vocational training institute in Kaduna. Abubakar Umar was known as the soldier of democracy. But his name was missing among the June 12 honorees announced on Democracy Day. President Tinubu apologized for the omission.”

Umar served as governor of Kaduna State from August 1985 to June 1988 under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. After retiring from the Nigerian Army in 1993, he emerged as a vocal social critic and aligned himself with pro-democracy activists in the struggle to restore democratic governance.

PlatinumPost reports that calls for Umar’s recognition had intensified recently, particularly following an appeal by former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani, who urged President Tinubu to honour Umar for his role in the June 12 movement.