A bill to formalise a National Council of Traditional Rulers has plunged Nigeria into a rare, bipartisan uproar.
The Senate plan grants the Ooni of Ife and the Sultan of Sokoto permanent co-chairmanship—an honour critics say entrenches ethnic hierarchy.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls it “ethnocentric,” the Middle Belt Forum brands it a historical distortion. From Benin to Borno, leaders warn the move risks alienating regions whose thrones predate Sokoto’s rise.
Supporters frame the bill as symbolic; opponents see it as constitutional overreach and a threat to fragile unity. D
emands are growing for a rotating chair to reflect the federation’s diversity—before a council meant to unify becomes another flashpoint in Nigeria’s politics of identity.
