Joint Govs’ C’ttee Gets Four Weeks to Harmonise Constitutional Role for Monarchs

*Uzodimma heads 15-man committee

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

A 15-member committee made up of governors and traditional rulers, has been mandated to compile key recommendations including constitutional roles to be included in a bill to establish a National Council of Traditional Rulers.
The committee chaired by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State is to harmonise recommendations to clarify the role of traditional rulers in ensuring security at the grassroots.
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, made this disclosure to newsmen on Wednesday evening at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, after a joint meeting between the governors and traditional rulers.
He said both parties discussed the need for community policing, intelligence sharing and the role of traditional rulers in ensuring security at their local communities as part of proposed amendment to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
His words: “The meeting went into the agenda of the day, which amongst others included the issue of the constitutional role of our traditional rulers in Nigeria.
“There’s a bill currently before the National Assembly and after we had a few inputs from our Royal Highnesses and royal Majesties, our notable majesty, the Etsu of Nupe graciously gave us a summary of what the proposed bill looked like.
“After a few remarks on that submission, the joint meeting of both the governors and our Majesties, His eminence and Royal Highnesses agreed that one the proposed bill, as presented by his royal majesty, should be circulated amongst all those that are present here today.
“Two, that a joint committee of governors and our traditional rulers should be set up, and that committee should seek to ensure that the various remarks and comments that were made from those that are here present that reflect the desires of those that they represent, should be included to make to make for  a robust document and memorandas should also be called for and received.
“And all that should be synthesised so that whatever document will be presented to the National Assembly will be a very comprehensive, a very inclusive document that seeks to empower our royal majesties, royal highnesses more and seeks to involve them in governance, peace, security of our various states across the country, including the FCT.
“We further deliberated also on the issues of peace and security, food security, and all other emerging threats. The  participation of our traditional  rulers was also, again, underscored. More so, since they are the closest to the grassroots.
“Fortunately, we are blessed with many of them who are  extremely experienced, extremely lettered, extremely knowledgeable, and we have our retired soldiers that indeed their contributions at that level cannot be, you know, overestimated.
“A lot of reference was drawn from what obtained in the past, where we had the local constables that reported to both our traditional rulers and the local governments and how effective they were.”