The Adamawa State Government has stated that its recent policy restricting non-indigenes from holding positions in traditional councils is not directed at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The clarification comes in response to public backlash and speculation following a circular from the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, which many interpreted as an attempt to revoke Atiku’s title of Waziri Adamawa.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Iliya James, explained that the directive forms part of a wider institutional reform aimed at promoting indigenous representation in traditional governance. He maintained that the measure is not aimed at any individual or political actor.
James clarified that the policy affects only those holding official roles in the decision-making structures of emirates and chiefdoms, not individuals with honorary chieftaincy titles such as Atiku.
“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 said during a press briefing in Yola.
He added that the reform is intended to ensure that traditional leadership remains rooted in the local communities they serve.
The circular, dated 20 June 2025 and signed by Mrs Adama Mamman, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, was widely circulated on 24 June. It instructed that only indigenes should serve on traditional councils involved in leadership decisions, following the creation of new emirates and chiefdoms across the state in November 2024.
The policy shift has affected several prominent individuals now reclassified as non-indigenes under the revised emirate boundaries. Among them are businessman Abdulkadir Aminu Mbamba, the Wali Adamawa; former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nathan Musa, the Wakili Alkalan Adamawa; and former Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, James Barka, the Magatakarda Adamawa.
All three are originally from Hong Local Government Area, which previously belonged to the Adamawa Emirate but now falls under the newly created Huba Chiefdom.
Although Atiku, who hails from Jada in the Ganye Emirate, holds the influential title of Waziri Adamawa, the government reiterated that the directive does not apply to his honorary role.
The state administration insisted that the move is part of a broader restructuring of traditional institutions and not a politically motivated action. According to officials, the aim is to preserve the integrity and autonomy of local customs by ensuring that leadership roles are filled by true community members.
