Africa-Press – Nigeria. Igbo Community Association, ICA, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, has joined in opposition against the bill currently before the Senate seeking to permanently elevate the Ooni of Ife and the Sultan of Sokoto as the exclusive Co-Chairmen of the Traditional Rulers Council.
The bill, which has passed second reading in the Senate, is generating controversy, with both the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Middle-Belt Forum kicking against the bill.
In a statement signed on Tuesday by Engr Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, President General ICA, and Mr Mazi Emmanuel Onah, Secretary General, the group said it would resist the bill.
According to the statement, the bill has a potential for ethnic and social unrest.
“It smacks of insensitivity towards the ethnic diversity of Nigeria,” the Igbo group stated, urging the National Assembly to retrace its steps.
“The leadership of the National Assembly should rethink and avoid returning Nigeria to the days of institutionalized bigotry and federally-funded marginalization.
“We the Igbo will resist it. We will join all willing and good minded ethnic groups to resist this boldfaced disrespect to other ethnic groups in Nigeria.
“The Sultan of Sokoto is not a traditional ruler. He is a religious figure. The Kanuris are not under the traditional umbrella of the Ooni of Ife or the Sultan of Sokoto. Neither do all the Igbos.
“The ethnic groups that populate the north central region and the south south geopolitical regions are not under the traditional rulership of the Ooni of Ife or Sultan of Sokoto,” it stated.
ICA cautioned that Nigeria is a country still recovering from the mistakes of the past and that the National Assembly must not take the country back to those days
“This beautiful country comprises three major tribes. The Hausa, the Yoruba and the Igbo. The National Assembly must respect and appreciate this reality.
“Our demand is for the three major tribes of Nigeria to be represented as the Chairmen of the National Traditional Rulers Council.
“We demand for members of the National Assembly to voice out against this unfolding injustice,” the group further stated.
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