MURIC Blows Hot as Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill Passes 2nd Reading
- The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) said the Sokoto Emirate Council amendment bill is an attempt to weaken the Sultan’s powers
- The founder and executive director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said the lawmakers should rather amend the bill to exempt the Sultan from being dethroned
- Akintola accused Governor Ahmed Aliyu of dismantling the Sultanate Council and setting up his own personal Sultanate Council
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy
Sokoto state - The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has warned Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto state against carrying out the Sokoto Emirate Council amendment bill.
The founder and executive director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, condemned the bill which when passed will strip the Sultan of certain powers including that of appointing the kingmakers and district heads without government approval.
Source: UGC
Akintola said the bill was an attempt to weaken the Sultan’s powers and make him less relevant in the scheme of traditional settings.
He made this known in a statement shared via the organisation website.
“In short the governor is preparing the ground for dismantling the Sultanate Council and setting up his own personal Sultanate Council, a council that will be totally controlled from government house. That is the only logical explanation for his removal of 15 traditional rulers in a single day. Ahmed Aliyu is exhibiting the symptoms of fascism, totalitarianism and prebendalism.”
MURIC urged the state lawmakers to stop the progress of the bill after it passed the first and second reading.
Akintola said the lawmakers should rather amend the bill to exempt the Sultan from being dethroned.
“We appeal to lawmakers in the Sokoto State House of Assembly to halt the progress of the current bill. Instead, they should turn to the section of the state’s chieftaincy law which empowers the governor to remove the Sultan with a view to amending it in such a way that will exempt the Sultan from dethronement. This is necessary in the interest of the unity of the Ummah.
“It has become mandatory to exempt the Sultan from the possibility of deposition before a governor who will be more radical than Colonel Muazu and more reckless than Ahmed Aliyu takes the center stage and then all of us will shout in unison, ‘Oh God! What have we done?’”.
Sokoto governor deposes 15 emirs
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Governor Aliyu deposed 15 traditional rulers in Sokoto for various offences.
Abubakar Bawa, the chief press secretary to Governor Aliyu, said some of the affected monarchs were said to have been appointed by the former governor of the state, Aminu Tambuwal, towards the end of his tenure.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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Source: Legit.ng
