Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adebayo Adewole and the Governorship candidate of the party in Delta State, Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi, are seeking constitutional roles for traditional rulers in the country.
Also, the world oldest monarch, the Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom cum Chairman, Council of Urhobo Traditional Rulers, Ovie Richard Ogoni-Oghoro 1 and the Ovie of Uvwle Kingdom; His Royal Majesty (HRM), Dr. Emmanuel Sideso, Abe 1, are in the forefront of this advocacy.
Speaking during a separate courtesy visit on the monarchs by the SDP governorship candidate who led the presidential candidate and the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam and other top echelons of the party, the duo canvassed support for traditional rulers to be carried along as they are the custodian of the laws of the land.
Prince Adewole, who was represented by the former minister of Sports, Chief Solomon Dalonge, described the presidential candidate as a deribalized Nigerian who knows the country well enough to be elected as president.
“Your majesty, the traditional institution remains the only last hope whom Nigerians need to tap into because they fought and conquered battles and there was nothing like banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping and what we see in our days today.
“But here we are today, everybody is a captive. Our traditional rulers, citizens, government officials and our communities are not saved. We cannot downplay the roles of the traditional institution. They know the security of the area more than any security agencies that we have in Nigeria.
“It is only the traditional ruler that has the security architecture. This time we have a situation where the traditional rulers does not receive the security vote and the man who receives the security vote is not responsible to the situation.
“If there is crisis today, nobody will go to the governor, the first person they will come back, is His Royal Highness. So, how do you hold a man who does not receive the security vote to account for the security situation? This an anomaly that the SDP will seek to correct.
Speaking further, he lamented that high level of poverty and hunger that have taken turn on Nigerians.
Hear him: “the level of poverty, hunger and unemployment that have bedeviled this country, is embarrassing and we need leadership that will be able to position and transform this country so that every Nigerian would be proud and identify with the country.
“Today, many young Nigerians are leaving the country and they die in the process. Some are held in different part of the world, some are taken into slavery and some sell themselves. Something has to be done, saying “we have the answer to the challenges facing this country.
“We are contesting the election this time. We won election from councilor to the president and the vote was annulled. So, SDP was the first victim of injustice in Nigeria. Your royal Majesty, as we talk today, nobody has spoken about it and nobody has said sorry to us in the election we spent money to do, won and was annulled.
“They have recognized June 12 as public holiday but they have not recognize the injustice perpetrated against this party. We believe that in 2023, God and the people of Nigeria, will restore the Social Democratic Party and that mandate which was annulled and stolen”, he declared.
Also speaking, prominent governorship candidate, Gbagi, who regretted the threats traditional rulers are subjected to said: “the way the Colonia Masters designed it, you are entitled to one DPO to yourself as a traditional ruler and the DPO is supposed to work under you, report to you and takes instructions of Uvwie local government area from you.
“Because you are a custodian of security in this local government area but the way it is designed today, it is designed not to work”, he said.
Earlier, the Owhorode of Olomu Kingdom, said “Right from time immemorial, that is, before the advent of the white man, we, Nigerians, have a way of ruling ourselves via traditional rulers. And these traditional rulers have a role they played. It is the unholy politics that eroded the powers of the traditional rulers.
“Traditional rulers are the chief security officers in their kingdoms. What is happening in every kingdom presently, if traditional rulers are given the latitude to play their role, most of these things will not be there.
“The people in the locality know one another. Those performing or perpetrating atrocities will be fished out. So, traditional rulers should be given their due roles to do justice to their people. Government should also endeavour to give traditional rulers security vote to enable them to work more effectively.”
In same vein, the Ovie of Uvwle Kingdom expressed surprise that despite the presentations by Nigerian monarchs to the National Assembly, the committee on constitutional review did not do anything, or say a word on the need for constitutional roles for traditional rulers in the country.
He appealed to the Executive to intervene just as he commended the Federal Government for the continuous support for the traditional institutions just as he prayed for Adebayo and Gbagi to succeed in the political ambitions.
