from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – TRADITIONAL leaders have welcomed the move by the government to create constitutional roles for monarchs in Nigeria.
The House of Representatives is pushing the move, which the Association Of Traditional Leaders For Security, Peace And National Integration has lauded.
“Traditional rulers have the key to engendering peace and tackling security challenges in their various domains if integrated into the security and governance architecture of the country,” said Eze-Igwe William Ezugwu, National President of the Association.
“Certainly, if the move is actualised, it will be a legacy achievement of the tenth National Assembly that will ensure that the needed peace that has eluded the country will be a thing of the past in no distant time after. For a long time, traditional rulers have been agitating for constitutional inclusion in the running of the country.”
Ezugwu said traditional rulers across the West African country were willing to make useful input into the proposed legislation at any point of its drafting if invited to do so.
Abbas Tajudeen, the Speaker of the House of Representative, at the weekend said that the Green Chamber would work to ensure that traditional rulers have constitutional roles.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest country by population, estimated at over 200 million.
It comprises more than 300 tribes.
– CAJ News