The Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and traditional rulers have agreed to form a committee to work on creating a clear constitutional role for traditional rulers in the country.During a meeting on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the decision was made.
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun told reporters after the meeting that the meeting's focus was on how traditional rulers could help with governance, peace, and security in Nigeria by having a formal role in the constitution.
He claims that this topic is already the subject of a bill in the National Assembly, and the objective is to ensure that the appropriate suggestions and input are included in it. Governor Abiodun explained that a joint committee of governors and traditional rulers was established as a result of the meeting.
Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State, will be in charge of the committee. Its primary responsibility is to collect and analyze feedback from a variety of groups, particularly traditional rulers and the communities they represent, to ensure that the requirements and desires of those groups are reflected in the document that will ultimately be presented to the National Assembly. "A joint committee of governors and our traditional rulers should be set up, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, and that committee should seek to ensure that the various remarks and comments that were made from those who were present that reflect the desires of those that they represent, should be included to make for a robust document," he stated.
Memorandum should also be requested and received, and everything should be combined so that the document that is presented to the National Assembly will be very comprehensive and all-encompassing. It should aim to empower our royal majesties and royal highnesses more and involve them in the governance, peace, and security of our various states across the nation, including the FCT.
According to Abiodun, the meeting also discussed gender-based violence, state police, and local government autonomy. "We discussed the impact, or lack thereof, of local government autonomy on traditional rulers," he stated.
The goal was to explain the significance of the Supreme Court's decision to them so that when implementation began, they would have a better idea of how it would affect them. We also discussed issues of food security, peace and security, and any other new threats. He added, "Again, the importance of our traditional rulers' participation was emphasized."
