The Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill has passed through second reading in the State House of Assembly.
The bill, when signed into law, will whittle down the powers of the Sultan of Sokoto, by stripping him of the powers to appoint the kingmakers and to appoint district heads without government approval, among other things.
On Monday, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) had raised the alarm about a purported plan by the Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, to depose the Sultan of Sokoto.
MURIC’s Executive Director, Prof. Isiaq Akinola, had said that the Sultan’s role is not only traditional but also religious, extending beyond Sokoto to cover all Nigerian Muslims as their spiritual head.
Also on Monday, Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cautioned against the alleged plot to remove the Sultan by the Sokoto State government.
The state government, however, denied any plan to depose the Sultan, describing the allegation as false.
The state Commissioner for Information, Sambo Danchadi, explained that the law guiding the appointment of traditional rulers in the state had not been changed.
Governor Aliyu had previously removed 15 traditional rulers in the state for various offences.
