Ondo State government on Thursday said it has received over 50 proposals and 70 petitions from communities seeking review and amendments on chieftaincy declarations of traditional rulers in the state.
The State Commissioner for Local Government Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Amidu Takuro, who disclosed this in Akure, the state capital, during a press conference, said the state is set for a public hearing on the proposed chieftaincy declarations in the state.
He explained that the plan to amend the existing chieftaincy declarations in the state became necessary to restore dignity in the appointment and installation of traditional rulers in the state.
According to him, the chieftaincy declarations, also known as community constitutions, will also help reduce litigation by regulating the appointment of chiefs and providing certainty of the law.
Takuro said the public hearings to listen to the agitation of those seeking the review of the existing chieftaincy declarations would commence on Monday, 6th January, 2025, disclosing that only communities with monarchs would be allowed to amend their chieftaincy declarations.
He said the communities would be allowed to determine the number of kingmakers, ruling houses, and regencies in case of the death of a monarch in the reviewed chieftaincy declarations.
He said this will include the number and identity of ruling houses and the order of rotation for ruling houses to provide candidates for vacancies.
He explained that the chieftaincy declaration of each community has to do with the law of each community, which approved stools by the government of the state.
He said, “It is expected that the people of the community, led by the traditional ruler, will bring his people together and other stakeholders that will determine their successors’ arrangements and kingmakers.
“As a ministry, we must do everything humanly possible to limit the number of litigations on chieftaincy matters in the state.
“In the past, we discovered that most of the declarations were being made in secrecy, and we don’t want that to continue. We want it in a way that every citizen of the community will have knowledge of what happens as regards their chieftaincy declaration.
“So, to us, we set up a committee that has been approved by the Governor that will help us as much as we can to have a perfect chieftaincy declaration for all the stools of Ondo State.
“We want to assure the good people of Ondo State that the committee will do justice to all their requests, and we have received some petitions against some of the proposed drafts by some of the traditional rulers, and all these things will be looked into during the sitting of this committee.
“We have received over 50 proposals, while we have also received over 70 petitions on chieftaincy declarations in the state, which some people and the community said have to be reviewed. Some of them are still in court, and we cannot do anything about them.
“But let me say, nobody can upturn an approved chieftaincy declaration, what has been approved by the State Executive Council. You have to go to court. It is only the court that can nullify any chieftaincy declaration.
“We will not allow anybody to undermine their interest whatsoever on this chieftaincy declaration in the state. Every one of the stools has the right to come together within their community according to the chieftaincy law.
“But we will not allow any traditional ruler to impose his views or interests on other communities. All these things will be sorted out, and we have some mechanisms being put in place to make sure that we resolve issues like this within a short period.”
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