The Ijaw National Congress has condemned the bill before the Senate seeking to permanently elevate the Ooni of Ife and Sultan of Sokoto as the exclusive co-chairmen of the nation’s Traditional Rulers Council.
INC said the move would be at the expense of other apex traditional rulers from other ethnic nationalities and geopolitical divides in the country.
INC Second Vice Chairman, Chief Nengi James, said in a statement on Tuesday in Yenagoa that the proposal is a continuous infringement on traditional rulers in Nigeria.
James described the provision of the bill as unacceptable and against the rights of the indigenous people across tribes, religions, cultures and customs across the country.
He said the bill should be reviewed to include clauses to ensure that there is no permanent chairmanship for only the Sultan and Oni in the bill before the Senate.
He called on the National Assembly to allow the National Council of Traditional Rulers to appoint their rotational leadership themselves and based on federal character.
James also urged the National Assembly to “include the role of traditional rulers in the constitution and that no traditional ruler from another tribe or religion is superior to another.
“The National Assembly should step down the provocative and dehumanising offensive bill that will cause a serious rift and breach of peace in Nigeria,” he said.
James drew the attention of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to the bill, urging him to immediately step down what he termed a “highly insensitive and dangerous bill”.
He emphasised that traditional rulers across the country must be given equal recognition and should be allowed to choose their national leadership through internal mechanisms that reflect rotational leadership and the federal character system.
