MURIC asks Sokoto assembly to halt bill seeking to whittle Sultan’s powers

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the Sokoto house of assembly to stop the bill seeking to amend some sections of the state’s emirate council law.

On Tuesday, the Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill scaled first and second readings in the house of assembly.

If the bill is enacted, Muhammad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, will be unable to appoint district heads without the approval of the state government.

In a statement on Wednesday signed by Ishaq Akintola, founder and executive director of MURIC, the Islamic group said the amendment bill is “outrageous and anachronistic” and an attack on the traditional institution.

MURIC alleged that the bill was designed to “weaken” the powers of the Sultan and make him “irrelevant”.

The Islamic group accused Ahmad Aliyu, governor of Sokoto, of “preparing the grounds” to “totally control” the sultanate council from the government house.

“It is a direct attack on the traditional institution of Sokoto state. Instead of entrenching the powers of the Sultan, it is an undisguised attempt at weakening his powers and making him less relevant in the scheme of traditional settings,” the statement reads.

“In short, the governor is preparing the ground for dismantling the Sultanate Council and setting up his own personal Sultanate Council, a council that will be totally controlled from government house.

“That is the only logical explanation for his removal of 15 traditional rulers in a single day. The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the Sokoto house of assembly to stop the amendment bill seeking to amend some sections of the state emirate council law.

“Nigerian Muslims are already asking, ‘Why the rush?’ Why are they rushing the bill if there is no hidden agenda? The whole exercise is suggestive of political motivation. The governor is barely one year in office, and he has removed 15 traditional rulers.

“How many will he remove by the time he spends four years? That is reckless. It is acrobatic administrative reform at breakneck speed. The governor needs to slow down.

“MURIC calls the attention of Sokoto lawmakers to this disturbing development. What the good people of Sokoto State need now is a stable Sultanate Council. That is our pride.

“We appeal to lawmakers in the Sokoto state house of assembly to halt the progress of the current bill.

“Instead, they should turn to the section of the state’s chieftaincy law that empowers the governor to remove the Sultan and amend it in such a way that will exempt the Sultan from dethronement.

“This is necessary in the interest of the unity of the Ummah.”

Recently, speculations on the alleged plot to dethrone the Sultan by the Sokoto government have heightened.

On June 24, Vice-President Kashim Shettima said the Sultan represents an idea that must be jealously guarded and projected for the growth of the nation.

MURIC had claimed that there were “feelers” that the Sokoto state government was planning to dethrone the Sultan.