Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has barred all traditional rulers in the state from conferring traditional titles without government clearance.

“Henceforth, no Emir, Senior District Head, or District Head must appoint anybody into any traditional office without securing official permission and clearance from the state government,” Mr Matawalle was quoted as saying in the statement.

The directed all the local chiefs and traditional rulers to first seek government approval before conferring chieftaincy title on anyone in the state.

Zailani Bappa, the governor’s media aide, in the statement, said the directive became necessary to check indiscriminate awards and possible abuse of the traditional institution.

“Compliance to this directive is now mandatory, and failure to abide by it will attract serious reprimand from the state government,” he warned.

The directive came after the Emir of ‘Yandoto, Aliyu Garba-Marafa, conferred the traditional title of Sarkin Fulani on a wanted bandit, Ado Aleiru.

The appointment generated backlash, with the government suspending the emir and constituting a committee to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara, told journalists that though traditional rulers were given the mandate to appoint title holders, the case of Mr Aleru was different.

“The emir ought to have written to the government seeking approval through the governor, who will forward the request to State Security Council, who will screen to look at the pros and cons.

“None of these were done. It is after the recommendation of the Security Council that the State Executive Council will also have to ratify the recommendation.

“But like I said, this has not been done that is why the state government felt there was a need to suspend the emir,” Mr Dosara said.

According to him, the six-man committee investigating the suspended emir has been working and will soon submit its report.

(NAN)