Traditional rulers across the country should be ready to use their positions to assist the Federal Government to tackle the different security challenges facing the country.

This is because the traditional rulers played major roles when the government was tackling bombing of oil installations by the Niger Delta militants and the secessionist agitation by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra in the South East.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo gave the charge at the opening of the tenth National Development Summit of Nigerian Traditional Rulers in Abuja, urging them not to relent, but take up greater responsibility in order to resolve the bloody conflicts being experienced in parts of the country.

Osinbajo said the monarchs’ engagements were as important as those of law enforcement agencies, urging them to leverage on the respect they command among their followers in tackling the challenges.

He said while law enforcement agencies were critical elements in deterring criminality and ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice, overlooking the place of non-coercive conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms would do a great disservice to Nigerians.

According to him, the traditional rulers were also repositories of important intelligence that could be useful in detecting suspicious or criminal activity, saying the partnership between traditional authority and government was therefore crucial.

He added that he could say without fear of contradiction that the new vision for the Niger Delta would not have happened without the support of traditional rulers and leaders in the region.