The Senator representing Ondo South and member of the Appropriations Committee in the Senate, Jimoh Ibrahim, has defended the capture of traditional rulers in the 2024 budget, saying they are relevant to the society.
Ibrahim stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
The 2024 budget had allocated the sum of N7.61 billion for the ”empowerment of traditional rulers.”
Ibrahim said: ”In the federal system of government and following our historical trajectory, are traditional rulers not part of our government?’
”Are they not part of Nigeria? Are they not responsible for certain issues in security?”
On the fact that the traditional rulers are being taken care of by the state and do not need to be included in the national budget amid the call by the presidency for a frugal approach to the economy, Ibrahim said the traditional rulers cannot be disregarded as they are vital entities in the society.
He maintained that there cannot be a total separation of power as states do not have that sovereignty and still depending on the Federal government for support.
”You also know that the federal government gives support to the states. States are not sovereign within the federal sovereignty, it is one umbrella of sovereignty that encompasses everyone,” he noted.
Ibrahim also said that 7,000 projects captured in the 2024 budget were ”too small for the over 200 million Nigerians.”
