The Adamawa State Government calls it an innocent step towards nurturing emirates and chiefdoms that are truly indigenous, but critics see it as a deliberate move to malign a prominent son of the soil, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The news broke in the evening of Tuesday, July 24, 2025 that Atiku had been stripped of his title of Waziri Adamawa; that is how the very first report put it.

The Waziri Adamawa is a highly revered title carrying responsibilities that have long placed Atiku next to the Adamawa Emirate paramount king, the Lamido Adamawa, in ranking and recognition.

That first and virtually all subsequent reports in the local newsmill placed Atiku strategically on the front burner, lifting the prominence of the story into national reckoning.

The hype had become so thick by the afternoon of Wednesday, June 25, 2025 that the government had to speak up, to try to explain that the story was really only an interpretation of a circular released days earlier by the state government which made no mention of either Atiku or anyone for that matter.

The circular, written and released on June 20, 2025 by the Permanent Secretary of Department of Chieftaincy Affairs in the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adama Mamman, as addressed to emirates and chiefdoms, reads in part:

“Following the creation of new chiefdoms in the state by the Governor of Adamawa State, Rt Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, I am directed to inform you that all kingmakers and council members in the state must be indigenes of their chiefdoms; eg all kingmakers and council members of Adamawa Emirate Council must be indigenes of Yola North, Yola South, Girei, Mayo-Belwa, and Song LGAs (which form the emirate); while those of Mubi Emirate Council must be indigenes of Mubi North and Mubi South.

“However, those appointed or conferred with only traditional titles are to maintain their status regardless of their local government of indigene.

“With this content of the circular, all kingmakers and council members who are not indigenes of their chiefdoms have been relieved of their appointments.”

Atiku Abubakar came prominently into the scene for many reasons; first because he simply happens to be prominent, more prominent by far than any of the emirs and chiefs in Adamawa State, and of course because of his affinity with Adamawa Emirate.

Although he hails from Jada, a town and local government area which falls under Ganye Emirate, he holds the very eminent council title and position of Wakili Adamawa in the Adamawa Emirate.

Atiku is however not the only well known personality with connection to the Adamawa Emirate who have been affected by the now controversial government circular.

The Adamawa Emirate is the foremost traditional institution in the state with many other prominent council members from outside the emirate who are affected by the new order.

They include a famous businessman Abdulkadir Aminu Mbamba who holds the title of Wali Adamawa, former chief judge of Adamawa State, Justice Nathan Musa who holds the title of Waziri Adamawa and former Adamawa Speaker James Barka who is the Magatakarda Adamawa.

The three hail from Hong local government area which was in Adamawa Emirate before December last year when Hong was carved out to stand as an autonomous chiefdom named Huba Chiefdom.

In other words, it is the creation of Huba Chiefdom, with headquarters in Hong, and to which Mbamba, Musa and Barka belong that has by the new order voided  their decision making status in the Adamawa Emirate.

For the records, Huba Chiefdom came to be in December 2024 when the state government created it among five chiefdoms and two emirates.

The other four chiefdoms are Gombi, Yungur, Madagali and Michika while the two emirates are Fufore and Maiha.

Our correspondent reports that Atiku became the public focus of the new circular by the Adamawa State Government because of the weight of his Waziri Adamawa status, a status that he is widely perceived to cherish greatly.

It is believed in Adamawa circles that the government would not have taken its decision if only for the sake of Atiku alone; if all had been well between the government and Atiku.

Importantly, all have not been well with Atiku and the government, personified in this case by the Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri.

A cold war has raged between Atiku and Fintiri for months now, years actually.

Neither of the two has publicly admitted the fact of the fight but evidences have been glaring to close observers.

Fintiri’s supporters would dismiss any suggestion that Atiku made Fintiri, as they would proclaim that Fintiri has no godfather in politics, but none could ignore certain roles that Atiku has played in Fintiri’s life since Fintiri became governor, such as in the aftermath of the 2023 election when Fintiri’s main challenger, Senator Aishatu Ahmed (Binani) was wrongfully declared winner and Fintiri who was by all legal considerations set to win became uneasy.

Despite the high likelihood that Fintiri was bound to be eventually declared winner of that election, the wrong and premature declaration of Binani by the now dismissed electoral commissioner Hudu Yunusa-Ari created anxiety in Fintiri’s circles and Atiku had to come out to warn INEC to toe the right path by concluding that election and declaring the right winner, which was eventually done.

That intervention by Atiku in April 2023 is incidentally the last known affinity between him and Fintiri.

The two appear to have acted at cross purposes since then, with both being known, for instance, to keep off any event involving the other.

Reasons advanced for this sum up to widening political differences born of personal ambitions, with Fintiri appearing to want to assert himself even if it runs contrary to Atiku’s perceived interests, such as Fintiri’s apparent romance with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Atiku’s political adversary.

This would be why Fintiri is being read in many quarters as targeting Atiku by the circular of his government.

The heat around Adamawa had boiled so fervently by the afternoon of Wednesday June 25, that the state Commissioner of Information, Iliya James called the media to try to dowse things.

“The Adamawa State Government wishes to categorically clarify that recent activities and reforms within the Traditional and Chieftaincy Affairs sector are not directed at any individual or group,” the commissioner said.

Stating the perspective of the government further, the commissioner told the newsmen who covered the briefing, “It has come to the government’s attention that certain narratives in the public space suggest that recent decisions concerning chieftaincy matters are politically motivated or aimed at specific persons.

“We firmly refute these claims. The government remains committed to upholding transparency, fairness, and due process in all traditional and administrative matters. The ongoing reviews are intended to improve coordination, resolve long-standing disputes, and promote unity within the traditional institutions, not to marginalize or punish any individual.”

According to him, in the system being reviewed, there are kingmakers, but there is no provision outlining the eligibility of council members.

“A person from Mubi may be appointed as a kingmaker in the Adamawa Emirate Council despite not being a resident of the Adamawa Emirate Council’s local government areas. This is one of the peculiarities that the new amendment tries to address,” he added.

The commissioner made the notable point that the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs that announced the new reforms states that people who were given titles under the current setup will continue to hold them; except that their kingmaker duties must be renounced so that the true indigenes of the local governments concerned can be selected as kingmakers.

This very part of the commissioner’s clarification of the government circular, the part that people with titles could keep the titles but relinquish their kingmaker duties, diluted what was initially understood that Atiku’s Waziri Adamawa title had been taken away.

If the commissioner could be taken as stating the incontrovertible position of the Adamawa State Government, it would mean that Atiku continues to be Waziri Adamawa under the Adamawa Emirate but would no longer be a member of the Emirate Council and would therefore be unable to influence how the emirate functions.