The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has expressed dissatisfaction with the State House of Assembly for passing the controversial Traditional Rulers Council Law Cap 55 without proper consultation of Nigeria’s existing laws.
In a press briefing in Uyo, the chairman of the CLO in the state, Godknows Njoku, criticized the amended law, describing it as discriminatory and offensive.
Njoku called for the nullification of the law due to its inconsistencies and urged for adherence to constitutional provisions.
He also revealed that the CLO had initially planned to join the lawsuit as a plaintiff, but later withdrew the application after witnessing the governor’s positive response, encouraging traditional rulers to communicate concerns about the law to the government.
The passage of the law has sparked controversy, with various youths, women’s groups, and traditional rulers from minority ethnic groups such as Annang and Oro opposing the law. They argue that it violates the rotational provision among all paramount rulers in the state. The law grants perpetual leadership of the Traditional Rulers Council to Oku Ibom Ibibio, thereby disregarding this longstanding practice.
According to Njoku, “The matter is currently before the court, but we can firmly state that the House of Assembly did not fully consider the extant laws of the country before reaching their decision, which we find to be discriminatory and offensive.”
The CLO believes that the State House of Assembly should have consulted the existing laws, particularly Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution as amended in 2023, to assess the potential impact on other minority tribes.
