Middle Belt Forum Rejects Permanent Co-Chair For Sultan In Traditional Rulers’ Council

The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has opposed the proposed legislation to make the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar the Permanent Co-chairmen of National Council for Traditional Rulers of Nigeria.

In a statement signed by MBF National Spokesman, Luka Binniyat, the Forum said the rejection of the bill was anchored on strong historical, cultural, constitutional, as well as moral grounds.

MBF said, “The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) wishes to categorically express its firm opposition to a contentious clause in the National Council for Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, currently before the National Assembly.

“The Bill, sponsored by Senator Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau South), who is respected son of the Middle Belt and the Gwad-Goemai of the Goemai ethnic nation, has passed its second reading as of March 2025 and is now under consideration by the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service.

“At the heart of the controversy lies a deeply troubling clause in the Bill which proposes that the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife be made permanent co-chairmen of the proposed National Council for Traditional Rulers.

“While we leave our esteemed partners from the Southern region, to determine their position on the inclusion of the Ooni of Ife, the Middle Belt Forum unequivocally rejects, abhors, and condemns the institutionalisation of the Sultan of Sokoto as a permanent co-chairman of this proposed council.”

The Forum said the Sokoto Sultanate is historically junior to Middle Belt monarchies. “Historically, the Sokoto Caliphate is a relatively young institution compared to ancient kingdoms and confederacies in the Middle Belt. For instance, the Kwararafa Confederacy, which flourished for centuries, predates the Caliphate”

“Sultan is primarily a religious leader, not a secular traditional monarch. In Nigeria today, the Sultan of Sokoto is widely acknowledged as the spiritual head of all Nigerian Muslims, particularly across the 19 Northern States and the FCT. His spiritual leadership role is fundamentally religious. It is not secular,” the Forum said.

It therefore, said the monarch’s institutionalised leadership over a national council of traditional rulers would alienate Christians, traditional worshippers, and other faiths thereby violating the secular spirit of Nigeria’s Constitution.

“It would also skew the balance of representation in favour of Islam, thereby promoting religious supremacy under the guise of traditional unity,” the MBF maintained.

The Forum emphatically stated that if the Senate passes this bill with the contentious clause and it is assented to by the President, “we will mobilise all ethnic nationalities across the Middle Belt to boycott participation in the Council.

“The Middle Belt Forum stands firm in its belief that true national cohesion can only be achieved through fairness, mutual respect, and recognition of our rich historical diversities.

“Any attempt to impose a permanent religious figurehead on a national institution of traditional rulers is a violation of Nigeria’s secular character, cultural heritage, and federal structure. We shall resist it using every lawful and democratic means available to us,” the statement said.