The Adamawa State Government has clarified that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not being singled out by its recent directive restricting non-indigenes from holding council positions in emirates and chiefdoms across the state.
In a statement on Wednesday, the government said that the new order, which has stirred controversy across Adamawa, is a broad-based reform aimed at strengthening indigenous leadership within traditional institutions.
According to the Commissioner for Information, Iliya James, the policy is not targeted at any individual but is intended to ensure that emirates and chiefdoms are governed by people from within their communities.
“When you have kingmakers for a kingdom coming from outside the kingdom to decide who becomes king, for example, you could one day have the king from outside,” James stated while addressing journalists in Yola.
The commissioner explained that the reform focuses on council membership within traditional institutions, not on individual chieftaincy titles. He said the affected council members are those responsible for making key decisions that shape the leadership and governance of the emirates and chiefdoms.
The government’s clarification comes amid public debate sparked by a circular directing the implementation of the reform. The document, dated June 20, 2025, but only widely circulated on Tuesday, June 24, was signed by Mrs. Adama Mamman, Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. It described the move as part of a larger restructuring process following the creation of new emirates and chiefdoms last year.
Among those likely affected are other prominent figures in the Adamawa Emirate Council who are now classified as non-indigenes under the new structure. They include businessman Abdulkadir Aminu Mbamba, holder of the Wali Adamawa title; former Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Nathan Musa, who holds the title of Wakili Alkalan Adamawa; and former Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, James Barka, the Magatakarda Adamawa.
Mbamba, Musa, and Barka are natives of Hong Local Government Area, which was formerly part of the Adamawa Emirate but now falls under the newly created Huba Chiefdom following the state government’s restructuring in November 2024.
Political observers have accused the government of attempting to dilute Atiku Abubakar’s influence within the Adamawa Emirate. The former vice president, though a native of Jada in Ganye Emirate, until the removal held the prestigious title of Waziri Adamawa within the Adamawa Emirate.
