Bauchi State governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed, has resolved to review the salary and allowances of all traditional rulers in the Bauchi Emirate Council.
Mohammed, who reiterated his commitment to improving the living conditions of citizens of the state, said he has a deep sense of respect for traditional institutions.
The governor spoke when he received members of the State Council of Traditional Rulers at the Government House in Bauchi on Thursday.
He said, “You have been managing our limitations and inadequacies as a government to provide for you, and that is why when we came, we were building from where our predecessors have left off in terms of making sure that you have befitting accommodation, good transportation, and good remuneration.
“I understand to my chagrin, that some of the benefits that should come to you as per law, we were not doing it as a state, that is in terms of the sharing formula of the percentage of what is going to the local governments to you.
“It was not just done deliberately by us, we inherited it and we continued with it. We didn’t know until my eyes opened and I saw that you were being cheated and I said that it should be reversed, we have just started.
“The authors of that law knew that you have a lot of responsibilities because as Royal Fathers, you are not only taking care of yourselves, you are taking care of the Emirates and the communities and the community of royal fathers; the royal family whose needs are so vast and varied and they are huge.
“Therefore, you need a lot of resources to be able to keep them in the form and content of royalty that is expected of them. The royalty that is supposed to be exuded by them must be maintained by you and because you have been doing it over the years.
“So, I assure you that the sharing formula has been corrected and it will continue that way. We will also look at the salary structure of the District Heads and the Village Heads so that we can make it better for them to discharge their royal duties.
“This is to keep their eyes off the goodies of the bandits and other unwholesome elements that are coming to lure them to make them compromise.”
Earlier, speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Emir of Katagum, Alhaji Umar Farouq II, applauded Mohammed’s foresight and commitment to reviving the glory of traditional rulers and institutions.
