The Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, His Eminence Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar II, has vowed to back state governors in their drive to make the region a better place amid the issue of insecurity and poverty bedeviling the region.
Abubakar gave the assurance during the Northern Governors Forum joint meeting with traditional rulers in Kaduna on Monday.
He noted that no leader seeking the people’s mandate would deliberately turn his back on citizens after assuming office.
The monarch charged the state governors to listen more attentively to their critics and use constructive feedback to strengthen governance across the region.
He said: “I always feel bad when I hear that the governor doesn’t want to do anything or the president doesn’t want to do anything. No governor, no president will ask for people’s votes and, when he takes office, all he does is turn his back against the people,” he said.
“Listen to critics, listen to criticisms also, listen to critiques, and make amendments whenever these arise,” noting that genuine feedback can guide better decision-making.
“We are 100% with you in this drive to make the North a better place. You have our confidence, you have our trust. You can reach out to us any time of the day.”
The Sultan also called for more frequent engagement between governors and traditional rulers across the geopolitical zones, proposing structured meetings to harmonize decisions affecting the North.
“Whatever it takes to bring peace and stability to the North and to the country, we will do it. We don’t think we have any other place to run to except our place.”