Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru
El-Rufai, has set up a committee to restructure the 32 emirates and chiefdoms
in the state.
About 13 chiefdoms and emirates, mostly in central and southern parts of the
state, will be renamed, according to Daily Trust.
The administration had in June
sacked 313 districts and 4,453 village heads, in an attempt to cut down the
financial burden on the local government councils.
The state reverted to 77
districts and 1,429 village units that existed before 2001, when the
traditional institution was deregulated by Governor Mohammed Makarfi
administration.
Affected district heads are
currently in court to challenge the decision.
The 32 chiefdoms and emirates in
Kaduna State, comprises 10 first-class status, nine second-class and 13 third
class.
A 13-member committee has six
months to complete its assignment.
Commissioner for Local Government
Affairs, Jafaru Ibrahim Sani chairs the committee, with Permanent Secretary in
the ministry Stephen Joseph, serving as secretary.
The three traditional rulers on
the committee are the Chief of Zangon Kataf, Agwaptyap Dominic Gambo Yahaya;
Chief of Gbagyi, Sa-Bagyi Danjuma Barde; and Ciroman Zazzau, Alhaji Sa’idu
Mailafia.
Other officials are Director
General, Kaduna Geographic Information Service, Ibrahim Hussaini; Solicitor
General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Chris Umar; Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Rural and Community Development, Ibrahim Sambo; Special
Adviser (legal) to the Governor, Aisha Dikko; and former Permanent Secretary,
Auwalu Aliyu Damau.
The academics appointed into the
committee are Professor Abdullahi Ashafa of History Department and Professor
John La’ah, Dean of School of Science, Kaduna State University; as well as
administrator, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria, Professor Shehu Dalhat.
The terms of reference of the
committee, include (i) to examine the existing nomenclature of the graded
chiefs which emphasizes ethnic identity and propose new ones based on
town/location of the chiefdom taking due cognizance of the historical
antecedents of the chiefdom; (ii) to study the cultural affinities,
long-standing historical antecedents and other peculiarities of the people
within a chiefdom/emirate and advise on possible adjustments; (iii) to propose
alternative system of boundary delineation between Emirates/Chiefdoms in the
State to mitigate the incidence of incessant boundary disputes.
Other mandates of the committee
include (iv) to advise on the possibility of placing the staff of the district
and village administration under the control and supervision of the Local
Government Service Commission (LGSC) to guarantee their career progression in
the service; and (v) to advise generally on ways to improve the operations of
the Traditional Institution in the State to restore its glory and esteem
amongst the people.
“The ongoing restructuring has
nothing to do with the number of the chiefdoms and emirates”, Sani added.
”There won’t be a merger of any
chiefdom or emirate. Governor El-Rufai has accepted the 32 chiefdoms and
emirates he inherited.
“What we are out to do is that nomenclatures that reflect ethnic groups and tribes will be changed because such system excludes significant populations living in their areas.
“What we are out to do is that nomenclatures that reflect ethnic groups and tribes will be changed because such system excludes significant populations living in their areas.
“By that, we also hope that the
settler/indigene dichotomy will be abrogated.
”The exercise will enable the
traditional rulers to have the command and respect of all people living in
their domain irrespective of their ethnic affiliations.
“There is no need to change the
nomenclature of any chiefdom or emirate bearing the name of a town or local
government area.
“The committee will readjust the
boundaries of some of the chiefdoms and emirates.
”Currently, we have 57 boundary
disputes from the newly created chiefdoms and emirates. We want to reduce these
crises to the barest minimum”.
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