The Ogun State Muslim Council (OMC) has described the approval of the Ogun Chieftaincy Bill by the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, as a landmark development that would remove the shrouds placed on the doctrines associated with kingship and chieftaincy as well as burial of traditional rulers and chiefs in the state.
The OMC, headed by the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, in a statement by its Secretary-General, Alhaji Kamaldeen Akintunde, commended the actions of the state House of Assembly and Governor Abiodun regarding the bill.
According to the organisation, the new chieftaincy law known as ‘Obas, Chiefs, Council of Obas and Traditional Council Law of Ogun State, Bill 2021’, will give room for religiously inclined individuals to freely express their interest in serving their towns and communities through the traditional system.
“The law will also allow for family involvement in the burial process of traditional leaders upon their demise,” the body addded.
It commended members of the state House of Assembly for their diligence and bold stance, just as it praised all stakeholders for comporting themselves throughout the stages of the consideration of the bill.
The OMC noted that the new chieftaincy law is a product of a longstanding bill, since 2020, initiated and sponsored by the Awujale, Oba Adetona (then the chairman of the Ogun State Council of Obas), seeking a paradigm shift in the installation and the burial of traditional rulers.
Ogun Muslim Council lauds signing of chieftaincy bill into law
