Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, on Saturday, said that the House will work to ensure that traditional rulers are assigned constitutional roles.
Abbas said this had become necessary due to the critical roles traditional rulers play in the peaceful coexistence and development of the country.
He spoke at the palace of the Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, during his first visit to Zaria since his emergence as Speaker on June 13.
Abbas holds the traditional title of Iyan Zazzau, and was received by a mammoth crowd in Zaria who sang songs of joy to celebrate him as Nigeria’s number four citizen.
The Speaker, who is representing Zaria Federal Constituency for the fourth time, paid homage at the emir’s palace, where he noted the important role of traditional institutions and called for their recognition in the 1999 Constitution.
During the visit, Abbas was in company with principal officers and over 50 members of the House across political party and regional lines.
The Speaker commended his colleagues in the House for the “massive support” they gave him and the entire people of Zaria for the opportunity to represent them in the House.
He said, “One of the reasons for this visit is to seek your support and prayers for a successful tenure. Pray for us to lead well and deliver on our mandate.
“I want to make a promise to you today. I remember about three years ago when we held zonal hearings on constitutional amendment, you made submissions regarding the need for traditional rulers to have constitutional roles.
“I would like to assure you that we now have the opportunity. With me as your son being the Speaker, we will look at that proposal once again so that our traditional rulers will have recognised constitutional roles.”
He stated that the House of Representatives is seeking the cooperation of the entire traditional institutions in the North and the country to give them advice on how to succeed in their leadership, appealing that they should be told the truth in the best way to move the country forward.
The Emir of Zazzau, in his remarks, recalled that several sons and daughters of Zaria had held national positions before Abbas as Speaker of the House.
The Emir said, “The entire people of Zazzau are appreciative. The people of Zazzau have held high positions in this country. We had a President in the person of Yakubu Gowon. We also had a Vice-President in the person of Namadi Sambo. We now have a Speaker. We also had ambassadors, ministers and different positions.”
He noted that the people of Zaria have engaged in politics since 1999, while the Emirate had also made laudable contributions to political stability.
