Traditional rulers in Kwara State have pledged to maintain peace and security in their various domains.

The traditional rulers made the pledge in Ilorin  when the State Council of  Chiefs led by its Chairman and Emir of  Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, paid Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed  a solidarity visit.

Gambari, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said they were at the Government House to pledge their support and loyalty to the Ahmed administration in its task of transforming the state.

He also congratulated  the governor and his deputy over  their recent victory at the  Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

The emir expressed confidence in the ability of Ahmed to make the state the envy of others and urged him to strive harder in the task of delivering the dividends of democracy.

Responding, the governor thanked the traditional rulers for stabilising the polity and for  playing critical roles in the area of security.

Ahmed advocated a constitutional role for traditional rulers so that they could   continue to play a complementary role in governance.

He enjoined them to remain committed to ensuring peace and security in their respective domains.

Ahmed pointed out that no meaningful development could be achieved in an unsecured environment no matter how benevolent the government was.

He described his victory at the tribunal as divine and for the people, noting that Kwaran people had made a choice on who to steer the ship of governance.

In a related development,  Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State has also charged traditional rulers in the state to ensure that peace and unity reigned supreme in their respective communities.

Yakowa gave them this task when members of the state Council of Traditional Rulers, led by the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, paid him a visit to discuss the security challenges in the state.

He urged them to sustain their support and loyalty to the government in ensuring peace and unity.

The governor emphasised the role of  traditional rulers in ensuring peace,  adding that the recurring cases of ethno-religious crises would easily be curtailed if members of the council counselled their wards on peaceful co-existence

Earlier,  Idris pledged that the traditional rulers would assist  the government to ensure peaceful co-existence in not just the state, but also  in the country at large.

He stressed the need to ensure peaceful co-existence, saying that no nation could develop without peace and unity among its citizens.

The traditional rulers also suggested the convening of  a peace conference to discuss the need  for better understanding  among all the stakeholders in the state.

Also speaking, the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Alhaji Jibril Maigwari, said that the government should prosecute those found guilty in any crisis  so as to restore people's confidence in the polity.

Maigwari said that only justice and fairness would forestall future security breaches in the state.