Indigenes beg Gov Bello to appoint new Lokoja ruler

According to the group, the absence of Maigari of Lokoja is negatively affecting the social and economic well-being of the area.

News Agency of Nigeria • September 28, 2023

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello

The Lokoja Forum of Patriots, on Wednesday, urged Governor Yahaya Bello to appoint a new Lokoja ruler after the demise of the late Muhammadu Kabir III.

The group, made up of Lokoja indigenes at home and abroad, appealed in a letter signed by Idris Babaango (chair) and Ali Danlami Ibrahim (secretary).

The group said the throne of the Maigari of Lokoja became vacant following the demise of Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir 111 on Sept. 28, 2022.

The group noted that since then, Lokoja and its indigenes had been living without a traditional head that could guide and Counsel them on peaceful coexistence.

“Our collective hope of having a successor to fill the vacuum created by the death of the late Maigari was high, especially when members of the Lokoja Traditional Council, who are also the town’s kingmakers, met and picked a successor in line with the tradition and custom of Lokoja to fill the vacant throne,” said the group.

It added, “To complete the process, the Lokoja Traditional Council forwarded the decision to your office through the Lokoja Local Government in line with the extant laws guiding the selection and appointment of a new Maigari. Since then, the people of Lokoja have been waiting eagerly for the formal approval and announcement of the new Maigari of Lokoja by the state government.”

The letter noted that by “September 28, it will be exactly one year that Lokoja has been without a Maigari, the traditional head of the town and Custodian of the culture and custom of the ancient town,” pointing out that the tradition and culture of Lokoja “abhor a vacuum, and this is happening for the first time in the history of the town.”

According to the group, the absence of Maigari of Lokoja is negatively affecting the social and economic well-being of the area.

“We are calling on all our royal fathers, the emirs and other traditional rulers in the state and in the entire 19 northern states to intervene and help us to appeal and beg Governor Yahaya Bello to approve a new Maigari of Lokoja for us without further delay,” the group stated.

(NAN)

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