Posted by Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State has once more urged the traditional heads of communities all throughout the state to work with law enforcement to address the security issues that plague their territories.
Ishaku, who made the request on Friday when presenting several third-class monarchs in the state with staff of office, was also seen urging them to steadfastly uphold justice and fairness in carrying out their appointed duties.
He emphasized that they should “uphold with the fullest sense of duty, justice, and fairness to your subjects, other residents of your towns, and the state at large” because they are the fathers of the people.
He continued, “You are now the chief security officers in your respective regions of jurisdiction; as such, you must work with security personnel in locating criminally inclined individuals determined to thwart our peace-building endeavor, which is essential to any real growth.
Ishaku promised “not to think twice about doing so again if any monarch is proven to be involved in actions harmful to peace” after noting that he had previously sanctioned traditional leaders who had stood in the way of progress.
According to him, his administration had made it a top priority to modernize established institutions in light of population growth, give ethnic nations the freedom to preserve, safeguard, and project their cultural legacy, foster intergroup harmony, and, most importantly, increase security.
He claims that the enormous support for democratic change and expansion of “our cherished traditional institution across the length and width of the state, as attested to by more communities demanding for their own chiefdoms,” has motivated his administration.
Ishaku affirmed that “the purpose of the exercise is to bring governance closer to the people, not to separate them,” and that his administration will continue to establish new chiefdoms in the state as more villages complied with the strict requirements.
In addition, Bello Yero, the permanent secretary of the bureau for local government and chieftaincy affairs, claimed that the newly appointed third-class chiefs were appointed as a result of the deaths of the previous occupants of the stools, necessitating the filling of the open seats.
He stated, “The last occasion of this sort occurred on May 28, 2021, when Joel Yerima Jatau, the chief of Ekpan, was presented with the staff of office, while the presentation for Kabri was unavoidably postponed.
In addition to the existing 17 chiefdoms met on the ground, the exercise resulted in the creation of an additional four chiefdoms, as noted by our state reporter, bringing the total number of chiefdoms created since his government began to 51.