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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