Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker House of Representatives on Wednesday 9July, disclosed plans for the establishment of a three-tier traditional institution in Nigeria through the ongoing alteration of the 1999 constitution.
He stated this in Abuja during an interactive session with traditional rulers as part of activities for the 2025 Open NASS Week organised by the leadership of the House in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and National Assembly Library Trust Fund (NALTF).
Chairing the second session of the day after the first one featuring women/gender advocacy groups, Speaker Tajudeen informed the Traditional Rulers led by the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Bamalli, said the proposed three tiers of Traditional Institutions would cut across Federal, State, and Local Governments to complement the efforts of the political class.
“Permit me just to give you an insight into what the National Assembly is deliberating on as far as traditional institutions are concerned. The 10th National Assembly is actively entertaining proposals to grant some constitutional recognition to traditional institutions. In so doing, there are proposals to have a three-tier traditional council structure as follows:
“We should have a National Council of Traditional Rulers; it will be an apex body to advise the President on issues of national unity, security, and cultural affairs.
“The second tier will be the State Council of Chiefs to be constitutionally recognised by state governments regarding issues of customary laws, peacebuilding, and development. “And then Local Government Traditional Council to formally engage with local governments, especially on security, peacebuilding, and community development,” he said.
Further more he said that “these proposals are based on the unimplemented Section 8 of the 1989 draft constitution, which provided for a local government traditional council presided over by traditional rulers.”
Speaker Tajudeen also noted that one important issue that has often been ignored is that of financial autonomy for the traditional institutions.
He said the incidence of having to go cap-in-hand to state governors or local government chairmen puts the traditional institutions at a serious disadvantage, saying financially guaranteed traditional institutions would function better for all in terms of service delivery.
Also responding to concerns of political victimisation and harassment by the political class, particularly during and after elections, Speaker Abbas said the legislature will strive toward achieving a constitutional protection for traditional rulers, to shield them from being coerced into partisanship by those in elective offices during campaign periods.
In a remark, Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli said traditional rulers were simply asking for the reinstatement of their previous leadership and administrative roles of peacebuilding, crime prevention, and culture preservation, among others.
He recalled that all pre-independence constitutions recognised the role of traditional institutions up to the 1963 Republican Constitution, after which the provisions were removed from subsequent amendments.
He noted that since the omission, a lot has gone wrong due to the inability of state agencies to adequately relate to happenings in rural areas without the active involvement of traditional institutions.
Other Royal Fathers who spoke during the event commended the Speaker for his efforts in ensuring that the traditional institutions in Nigeria are once again recognised constitutionally.
They noted that traditional rulers play critical roles in crisis management as well as crime prevention.
