Etsu Nupe Seeks Role For Traditional Rulers, As Okura, Edu, Others Demand New State

The Etsu Nupe and chairman of Niger State Traditional Rulers Council, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, has submitted a memorandum seeking specific roles for traditional rulers in the 1999 amended constitution of Nigeria.

This came as the memorandum for the creation of Okura State from the present Kogi State, Edu and Kainji  States

from the present Niger, Kebbi and Kwara states led seven others seeking new states.

The Etsu Nupe presented the memorandum yesterday at the Group A of North Central public hearing on constitutional review in Minna on behalf of the National Council of Traditional Rulers.

He said traditional rulers should serve as a link between the government and the people in areas of security, culture, justice and mobilization for development.

The royal father recalled that during the era of native authority, traditional rulers played those roles effectively until the 1979 Constitution broke the link of specific roles.

Dr Yakubu Ugwalawo submitted a memorandum for the creation of Okura State comprising 9 local government areas from Kogi east  with consequential adjustment for 16 more local government areas. Engineer Yusuf Yabagi Sani submitted a memorandum for the creation of Edu State comprised of eight local government areas and three emirates of Agaie , Bida and Lapai.

Former deputy governor of Niger State, Ahmed Ibeto, also submitted a memorandum for the creation of Kainji State out of the present Niger, Kebbi and Kwara State.

Others seeking creation of states were Okun, Southern Kwara, New Kogi, Kabba and Ekiti seeking merger with Ekiti state through boundary adjustments in Kwara State.

Chairman of Group A North Central committee, Hon Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, assured that all the memoranda and presentations would be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and everybody would be carried along.