By Kure Tashilane.
Nasarawa State Governor Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule in his administration’s commitment to fill the vacuum created following the demise of occupants of some Chieftaincy stools in the state in recent times has approved the selection and appointments of Agya Pius Ogu as the new Zhe Duglu, Mr. James Bala Angbazo as the new Aren Akun and Mr. Omanji Sarkin Emmanuel as the new Sangarin Dari.
Their selection and appointments was carried out by the king makers of their respective chiefdoms severally under the supervision of a committee set up from the Ministry of Local Government Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs to oversee the process.
There after, the State Traditional Council of Chiefs met at the Government House Council Chamber and did the usual ratification under the leadership of His Royal Highness Sidi Bage Muhammad 1(Retired Justice of the Supreme Court) the Emir of Lafia Thursday 13th February, 2025
In his speech shortly after receiving the documents which contains the nominations and selection of Agya Pius Ogu as the new Zhe Duglu, James Bala Angbazo as Aren Akun and Omanji Sarkin Emmanuel as Sangarin Dari, His Excellency Engineer Abdullahi A. Sule appreciated the officials of the Ministry for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs for conducting the exercise in compliance with the provisions of the approved instruments for the selection of Chiefs for the respective chiefdoms.
He also thanked those who were co-opted to be the presiding officers during the exercise carried out in three chiefdoms and equally apologized to the fact that the selection for the forth stool which is Agidi was not done as a result of some pending unanswered questions on those to be selected.
” I do not want to have any situation where we will have any problem whatsoever in this selection process. We are doing everything possible to ensure that we are in compliance with the provisions of the law to ensure that whatever we are doing is in agreement and also inline with what the people of those particular community wants …
” We try everything possible to avoid a situation where we carry out our wishes and if they are not the same with the wishes of the people. Therefore, in compliance with these laws, just like the Permanent Secretary had read, selection for three Chiefdoms were done today, the Duglu Chiefdom, where based on the recommendations before me; Agya Pius Ogu who actually scored the highest number of votes and nominated is hereby approved for that position …
” James Bala Angbazo who actually scored all the votes also is hereby approved for that position. While for Dari, Omanji Sarkin Emmanuel who also scored all the five votes for that area is hereby also approved for that position ” The Governor noted.
The Governor equally appreciated the royal fathers for their imputes on the selections done at various times as something of that nature requires a lot of work down the line and pray that the new Chiefs would have seamless integration in the fold of Council of Emirs and Chiefs of the state moving forward.
Engineer Sule urged all the traditional rulers of the state to continue to play their roles for continuous peace moreso, that investors have continued to show lots of interest in Nasarawa State.
” Your Royal Highnesses, will note that there have been a lot interests in our state. For Dari in particular, in Kokona local government, we are beginning to see a lot of interest in that area because of the minerals that had been discovered in that area and Abaga Toni is going to be another Osana of Keana ” The Governor stressed.
The event had in attendance members of the state traditional council, the Deputy Governor Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State Dr. Labaran Shuaibu Magaji, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs and officials of the ministry.