The Adamawa State Government has dismissed claims that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is being deliberately targeted by its latest directive barring non-indigenes from holding decision-making roles in emirates and chiefdoms.

In a statement on Wednesday, Commissioner for Information, Iliya James, clarified that the directive is a broad reform aimed at strengthening indigenous representation in traditional institutions, not an attack on any individual.

 “When you have kingmakers for a kingdom coming from outside the kingdom... you could one day have the king from outside,” James said during a press briefing in Yola.

The policy, detailed in a June 20 circular signed by Adama Mamman, Permanent Secretary, is part of a restructuring process that followed the creation of new emirates and chiefdoms in November 2024.

It affects council memberships, not personal titles. However, prominent figures such as Abdulkadir Aminu Mbamba (Wali Adamawa), Justice Nathan Musa (Wakili Alkalan Adamawa), and James Barka (Magatakarda Adamawa), all from Hong LGA, now under the new Huba Chiefdom, may lose their roles in the Adamawa Emirate Council due to the reclassification.

The move has drawn political attention amid suggestions it could be aimed at reducing Atiku’s influence in the emirate. Atiku, a native of Jada in Ganye Emirate, held the Waziri Adamawa title in the Adamawa Emirate before the restructuring came into effect.