Plot to Dethrone Sultan: Sokoto Govt Yet to Back Down – MURIC
POLITICS DIGEST- Despite the denial of the Sokoto State government on the reported plan to depose the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has insisted that the the Sultan is still being targeted for deposition.
Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director, of MURIC, said this in a statement, on Wednesday.
He said a bill called Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill has passed through the first and second readings and if passed into law, the Sultan of Sokoto will be stripped of certain powers.
This is coming on the heels of MURIC allegation that the Sokoto State Governor Aliyu is planning to depose the Sultan and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s comment urging the government to rather protect and promote the institution of the Sultanate.
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The Sokoto State government has, however, denied such plan.
Akintola said the amendment is condemnable as an attempt to diminish the influence of the Sultan.
He said it is the section of the chieftaincy law which empowers the governor to remove the Sultan that should be amended.
“There are reports that the Sokoto State House of Assembly is currently rushing through a bill which it called Emirate Council Amendment Bill. The bill has passed through the first and second readings within a very short period.
“If passed into law, the Sultan of Sokoto will be stripped of certain powers including that of appointing the kingmakers and district heads without government approval. This bill is outrageous, nauseating and anachronistic.
“It is a direct attack on the traditional institution of Sokoto State. Instead of entrenching the powers of the Sultan, it is an undisguised attempt at weakening his powers and making him less relevant in the scheme of traditional settings,” Akintola said.
