The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the National Council of Traditional Rulers in Nigeria (NCTRN) on Wednesday urged the federal government to introduce legislation that formally establishes a constitutional role for traditional rulers across the country.

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State made the appeal during a briefing with journalists after a joint meeting between the NGF and the NCTRN, which took place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Governor Abiodun described the meeting, led by NGF Chairman Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazak of Kwara, as a landmark gathering aimed at strengthening collaboration between government and traditional institutions to enhance governance and community engagement.

“The agenda of the day, amongst others, was the issue of constitutional role for our traditional rulers,” he said.

The governor said a bill was currently before the National Assembly seeking a constitutional role for traditional rulers.

“After we had a few inputs by our traditional rulers, the Etsu Nupe graciously gave us a summary of what the proposed bill looked like, and we agreed on the proposed bill, as presented,” said Mr Abiodun.

He said the meeting also agreed that a joint committee of governors and traditional rulers should be set up to ensure that the remarks at the meeting be included in the bill to have a robust document.

He said the final bill would be an inclusive document that would seek to empower traditional rulers more, and involve them in governance, peace, security of states across the country.

Mr Abiodun also said the meeting deliberated on peace and security, food security, and all other emerging threats.

“The participation of our traditional rulers was also underscored, since they are the closest to the grassroots.

“And fortunately, we are blessed with many of them who are vastly experienced, knowledgeable; we have retired soldiers whose contributions cannot be overestimated.

“We also discussed the issues of state policing and gender based violence. We spoke about the impact, or otherwise, of local government autonomy on traditional rulers.

“The idea was to inform them of what the Supreme Court ruling means, so that they have a better understanding of the impact of that ruling when implementation starts,” he said.

On his part, Yahaya Abubakar, the Etsu Nupe, commended the NGF for supporting a constitutional role for traditional rulers.

He affirmed that the meeting deliberated on solving issues, especially the constitutional role for traditional rulers in governance.

“I presented a brief on the bill being sent to the National Assembly, because, as you are all aware, presently, there’s a committee in the National Assembly charged with the responsibility of reviewing the 1999 Constitution.

“So, we already submitted a bill to that committee with a view to amending the constitution appropriately by identifying those areas we mentioned,” he said.

He stated that the structure, function and funding of traditional institutions were spelt out in the bill.

“There’s nothing that can happen without proper funding. So, we believe strongly that if the institutions are well funded, we will perform very well.

“Our institution now is blessed with professionals, with retired military officers, technocrats and any field you can think about,” said the Etsu Nupe.

He explained that a committee had already been set up, comprising 15 members under the chairmanship of Gov. Hope Uzodima of Imo.

“The committee will address these issues and then bring back a report to the forum so that necessary actions can be taken,” he said.

(NAN)