The Bill, which passed through the first and second reading last Tuesday, seeks to strip the Sultan of the powers to appoint and remove district heads.
The controversial Bill limiting the powers of the Sultan of Sokoto, introduced by the state House of Assembly is today (Tuesday) undergoing public hearing.
Media learnt that the Bill has polarised the state lawmakers at the public hearing, with opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus, claiming that the Sultan was being targeted.
The Bill, which passed through the first and second reading last Tuesday, seeks to strip the Sultan of the powers to appoint and remove district heads.
Accordingly, when passed into law the powers to appoint and remove district heads will now solely be vested in the state governor.
Media had reported how the controversial Bill had sparked reactions from several groups, including the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), accusing the Sokoto State governor, of plotting to dethrone Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III, an accusation the state government denied vehemently.
In the same vein, Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, while addressing a security summit organised by Northwestern states in Katsina State, last Wednesday, criticised the move and charged the state government not to tamper with the powers of the Sultan.
Responding to the vice president, the Sokoto government cautioned him to verify matters before going public. It however explained that the bill only seeks to amend section 76 sub section 2 of the Local Government Law 2008.
However some opposition PDP members in the State Assembly have also criticised the move, rendering the Bill as a calculated mischief aimed at witch-hunting the Sultan.
To them, the right to appoint district heads was the exclusive preserve of the Sultan and not the governor.
But the Commissioner of Information, Bello Danchadi, swiftly dismissed the claim and asserted, “the amendment aims to right the wrongs by reverting the the powers to appoint district heads, as the case was decades ago.”
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