DRPF opposes Lagos government plan to shift indigene certificate issuance to a ministry, citing risks to indigenous rights and cultural authority
The De Renaissance Patriots Foundation (DRPF) has opposed the Lagos State government’s proposal to transfer the issuance of indigene certificates from traditional institutions and local governments to a state ministry, warning that the move could undermine indigenous rights and weaken centuries-old cultural authority.
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The foundation presented its position following its participation in a stakeholders’ consultation meeting on the proposed policy.
The state government aims to digitise the indigene certification process and centralise issuance under a ministry, a plan DRPF says infringes on constitutional and ancestral responsibilities.
In a statement signed by DRPF President Muftah Bolaji Are and Steering Committee member Dr. AbdulLateef Onikoyi, the foundation reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the heritage, identity, and rights of indigenous Lagosians.
“Determining indigeneity is an ancestral function inseparable from traditional rulers and chieftaincy families, custodians of lineage records, migration histories, and genealogies dating back centuries,” the statement said.
DRPF argued that moving certification to a ministry could open the door to political manipulation, monetisation of certificates, creation of “new indigenes,” and gradual erosion of indigenous rights.
The foundation cited scholarly warnings of “genocide by migration,” referring to administrative dilution and erasure of original communities.
The group stressed that no other state in Nigeria has removed indigene certification from traditional rulers and cautioned that Lagos should not set such a precedent.
DRPF warned that stripping traditional institutions of this authority would weaken indigenous communities, reduce their capacity to defend their heritage, and enable non-indigenes to claim equal ancestral status.
Legally, the foundation noted that the Nigerian Constitution and the Federal Character Commission Act rely on legitimate indigene certification for recruitment, representation, and appointments.
It argued that certificates issued by a ministry would lack cultural legitimacy and could face challenges at the national level.
While DRPF is open to the ministry assisting with digitalisation and verification frameworks, it insisted that issuance powers must remain exclusively with traditional institutions.
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The foundation called for collaborative reforms that preserve the historical rights of indigenous Lagosians.
