The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has condemned a Senate bill that would permanently establish the Ooni of Ife and Sultan of Sokoto as exclusive co-chairmen of the Traditional Rulers Council.
The Igbo organization said the legislation would elevate the two traditional rulers "at the expense of apex traditional rulers from other ethnic nationalities and geopolitical divides."
Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, said the group was "profoundly astounded" by the bill, calling it inequitable and discriminatory.
"This bill is not only inequitable, discriminatory, and ethnocentric, it is equally distasteful, reprehensible, and objectionable," Chukwu said in a statement.
The organization argued that the legislation violates constitutional principles of federal character and disregards fairness and equity. Federal character refers to Nigeria's constitutional provision requiring proportional representation of the country's diverse ethnic and geographic groups in government positions.
Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, with the Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo being the three largest. The Ooni of Ife is a prominent Yoruba traditional ruler, while the Sultan of Sokoto leads the predominantly Hausa-Fulani caliphate and the Nigerian Muslim community.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo called for the bill's immediate withdrawal and urged lawmakers to consider "ethnic differences, cultural sensitivity, geopolitical balance, inclusive governance and equitable representation."
The Senate has not yet responded to the criticism.
