The National Assembly will make a case for official positions for traditional rulers in the ongoing reform of the Nigerian constitution, according to Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
On a courtesy visit, Lawan spoke at the palace of HRH Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, Emir of Ilorin.
Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar, who represents Kwara North Senatorial District in the Ninth Senate, was in Kwara largely to attend the opening of Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar's 2022 Empowerment Programme.
Lawan was accompanied to the palace by Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the Governor of Kwara State, and six prominent senators who had travelled with him from Abuja.
Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (Senate Deputy Chief Whip), Bello Mandiya, Yakubu Oseni, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Lola Ashiru, and Smart Adeyemi are the members of the Senate.
The Senate President stated that the ninth National Assembly considered that traditional rulers' tasks should be recognised in the Constitution so that they could perform their duties even better.
"We believe that our Royal Fathers should have a role and a better and more clearly official role and function in our constitution in order for us to be able to have an all-inclusive governance structure that will ensure that our Royal Fathers do what they do today in a more official manner in the ninth National Assembly."
"Traditional Institutions play a critical and substantial role in the stabilisation of our communities and societies in the northern portion of the country, as well as across the country."
"We feel that these functions should be represented and adequately incorporated in the Federal Republic of Nigeria's Constitution.
"Thank God, we're working on revising our constitution now." By God's grace, the National Assembly will complete its duty in leading the constitutional revision by the end of the month and transmit it to the States.
"Traditional institutions have always existed, and they have existed for a longer period of time than political institutions...
We have security concerns. The feeling of insecurity is all-pervasive.
"Thank God, the federal government is not giving up on restoring normalcy." However, the Federal Government, as well as all of our security agencies at all levels of government, cannot achieve the intended objective without public participation, and we feel that traditional institutions are necessary to mobilise individuals.
"This is where conventional institutions' formal role in governance is highly crucial and central." By God's grace, we're going to push for it. We want to see that reflected this time, and when that happens, our conventional institutions will be able to do even better the functions they already do," Lawan said.
Sulu-Gambari responded by thanking the Senate President for his visit but stating that he and his traditional ruler companions have no intention of competing with any institution.
He clarified that they were not seeking legislative or judicial powers, but rather consultative functions.
"What we're looking for is advisory participation," said the group. "What we're arguing is that there should be a Council of Traditional Rulers that can be sought for counsel and to help bring sanity to the country's governance," the Emir added.