Governors Advocate Constitutional Role For Traditional Rulers

Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma and his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, person stressed the request for accepted rulers to person a law role.

The governors were among different dignitaries who emphasised the value of giving accepted rulers a law relation astatine the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN) gathering held successful Lagos.

Ten governors and accepted rulers from crossed the state attended the meeting, themed “The Traditional Institution: The Imperative of Its Inclusion successful Effective and Efficient Governance successful Nigeria. ”

The gathering brought unneurotic royal fathers from crossed the state to deliberate connected the law relevance of accepted enactment successful modern governance.

Delivering the keynote code connected behalf of the president, Uzodinma said that accepted rulers had remained the astir enduring nexus betwixt authorities and the radical and indispensable beryllium formally recognised wrong the governance framework.

He said that the accepted instauration continued to play important roles successful promoting peace, cohesion, and stableness contempt the lack of law backing.

“Across the country, our accepted rulers transportation retired indispensable responsibilities that support our communities agreed and functionally mediating conflicts, preserving culture, and maintaining order,” helium said.

Uzodinma recalled that accepted rulers had defined roles successful the country’s aboriginal law order, citing the 1963 Republican Constitution, which gave them legislative beingness and information successful governance.

He lamented that the 1979 and 1999 constitutions failed to reconstruct specified recognition, leaving the instauration to run informally.

“This is not a question of nostalgia but 1 of organization continuity. Our royal fathers are inactive doing the work; they request ceremonial ineligible recognition,” Uzodinma said.

The politician urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue, stressing that galore African countries, specified arsenic Ghana, South Africa, and Namibia, had already constitutionally entrenched their accepted institutions without undermining democracy.

He described the accepted instauration arsenic indispensable to Nigeria’s unity and stability, adding that the clip had travel to assistance ineligible backing to the functions accepted rulers already perform.

“The matrimony betwixt governance and contented is real. The lone happening missing is the certificate,” Uzodinma said.

Earlier successful his invited address, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, the big of the meeting, said Lagos was honoured to big the assembly of taste custodians whose contented and enactment continued to uphold the nation’s motivation fabric.

Sanwo-Olu described the gathering arsenic timely, noting that accepted institutions had ever been the trusted span betwixt the radical and government.

“Long earlier modern governance, our accepted rulers were the bedrock of stableness and justice. Even today, nary authorities tin thrive without their support,” helium said.

The politician recounted the humanities contributions of monarchs who resisted assemblage rule, including Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi of Benin, King Jaja of Opobo, and Chief Ogedengbe of Ilesha.

According to him, subject involution successful governance weakened the accepted system, but ideology offers an accidental for restoration.

“Our royal fathers indispensable proceed to propulsion for constitutionally backed relevance. Lagos volition ever enactment this cause,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, Chairman of the NCTRN, commended President Tinubu for his committedness to nationalist unity. He expressed optimism that the discussions would pb to stronger organization designation for accepted rulers.

The Sultan urged accepted rulers to prolong their efforts to beforehand bid and security. He described their collaboration with the authorities arsenic cardinal to gathering a unchangeable and prosperous Nigeria.

The lawsuit was attended by the Governors of Ekiti, Edo, Imo, Cross River, Kogi, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, and Yobe, arsenic good arsenic apical Traditional Rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu represented, and Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabir Shotobi, among others.