Yemisi Izuora
The Arewa Council of Chiefs in Lagos has denied claims by the state’s Commissioner of Waterfront, Architect Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi, that the council had been giving ‘several tonnes’ of rice.
The council, which said it has not received even a grain of rice from the Lagos State government, warned people to abstain from using its name to carry out fraudulent activities.
In a statement signed by Alhaji Aliyu Bambado, the Galadiman of Lagos, on behalf of the Arewa Council of Chiefs, the body asked the person who announced the purported delivery of rice to prove who mandated him to approach the state government on behalf of the northerners.
Read the full statement below:
MEDIA STATEMENT BY AREWA COUNCIL OF CHIEFS, LAGOS STATE ON THE PURPORTED ALLOCATION OF RICE TO NORTHERNERS IN LAGOS, THROUGH THE COMMISSIONER OF WATERFRONT*
Our attention has been drawn to a social media information credited to 4 individuals (who, as close friends of his) received several tons of bags of rice from the Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront , Architect Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi purportedly on behalf of Northerners in Lagos.
We wish to state the records as follows:
1. That the Lagos State Council of Chiefs or precisely office of Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos has never delegated or nominated anyone to receive palliatives on behalf of Northerners in Lagos
2. That the Council of Chiefs and office of Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos has not seen even a single grain of rice purportedly from either the Commissioner for Waterfront or the Lagos State Government
3. That the fellow who made the social media broadcast on the rice allocation needs to prove who mandated him to approach the Lagos State Government on behalf of Northerners, when the Lagos Council of Chiefs, to which the Sarkin Hausawa belongs was there as the legal and constitutionally recognized body of elders.
4. That anyone who is in doubt of the limits of the powers bestowed on the the Lagos State Council of Chiefs or the office of the Sarkin Hausawan Lagos should visit the Oba of Lagos to have himself educated
5. Any attempt to use the name and office of the Lagos State Council of Chiefs or the office of Sarkin Hausawa for extortion will not be tolerated.
6. That it is totally unacceptable for any person or group of persons to indulge in cutting corners or going through the backdoor to do underhand deals capable of ridiculing the image and respectability of the office of Sarkin Hausawa.
We therefore wish to issue stern warning to the Commissioner for Waterfront to be mindful of allowing his office to be used by shadowy groups of people, who have no legal or Constitutional recognition, as this would amount a collaboration to defraud the government. We hope all stakeholders will join hands to stop this abhorrent attitude.
We wish to reiterate that henceforth anyone found using the name of our respected traditional institution to take advantage of anything meant for public good will be faced with legal action.
We make bold to say that, at an appropriate time soon, we will roll out the new penalities for acts that are confirmed to be dubious by all standards.
Most importantly, if the Lagos State Government wishes to convey anything that has to do with the legitimate rights of the Northerners resident in the State ( just like this lockdown palliative), it should reach out to the Council of Chiefs through the only known Sarkin Hausawa. We say this because anything worth doing is worth doing well, and the palliative is not a privilege but a right.
Like we once pointed out, the authentic Chairman of Arewa Council of Chiefs, Lagos State is Alhaji Aminu Yaro Dogara and has his Deputy, who is also the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos – Alhaji (Dr) Mohammed Bambado; and Sarkin Hausawan Idi-Araba remains Alhaji Idris Haruna.