Sokoto State governor, Ahmed Aliyu on Thursday, signed the amended Local Government and Chieftaincy Law and five others in the State.
The amended law strips the Sultan of the power to appoint district and village heads in the State.
The other laws are – Sokoto State Tenancy Law, Zakkat, and Waqf Law, and two others.
The governor has come under criticism lately over an alleged plan to dethrone the Sultan, who is the President-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs country.
In his address at the ceremony, Governor Aliyu said the new laws were not designed to witch-hunt any individual or group but to strengthen good governance in the State.
He advised Muslim clerics not to play into the hands of “lazy politicians” who were determined to score political goals through falsehood.
The governor insisted that his administration would continue to listen to the yearnings and aspirations of the people of the State.
Aliyu said: “We note with concern the unnecessary tension created by our proposal to amend some of these laws.
“Some of the reactions were politically motivated while others were done ignorantly without care to inquire from the right quarters on the details and intention of the amendment.
“It is a known fact that in every society, laws are enacted and amended to suit the needs of time and interest of the governed in line with circumstances at hand.
“Previous administrations had amended one law or the other in the state to give the state laws the needed touch that would fast-track peace and development.
“Let me make it clear that the just amended laws are not meant to winch-hunt any individual or group but rather to promote good governance and to remove the ambiguity and inconsistency with the nation’s constitution.”
