Controversy trails appointment of First Class Chief of Takum as Kuteb Yatso disassociates self from matter

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By our correspondent Jalingo 

The appointment of a first class Chief of Takum, Barrister Sopiya Gboshi by the Governor of Taraba State, Dr. Kefas Agbu on Tuesday has generated fresh crisis following the refusal of the Kuteb, the majority tribe in Takum to give recognition  to the new Chief.

After decades of tussle for the traditional stool of Ukwe Takum, in Takum local government area of the State, Governor Dr Agbu Kefas on Monday night surreptitiously presented Staff of Office to a new appointed First Class Chief of Takum and Three other Third class Chiefs at the Government House in Jalingo.

This is coming as the Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria, the umbrella body of Kuteb people worldwide, and the original custodians of the Ukwe Stool, have declared  their opposition to the appointment. 

The Kuteb vehemently vowed not to recognise the new Chief and would exhaust every legal means to recover their ancestral stool.

The President General of Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria (KYN), Comrade Emma Ukwen during a press conference shortly after the appointment in Jalingo on Tuesday described the appointment of the new chiefs as a  charade and gross act of injustice.

Comrade Ukwen disclosed that the Kuteb had already installed their own Ukwe Takum through traditional selection by the Kuteb kingmakers and cannot recognize any political Chief appointed by the government. 

“We will not honor politically appointed king of Takum. The Kuteb tribe have been the only tribe ascending the ancestral stool of Ukwe Takum for the past one hundred years, so where is the new political chief coming from. You cannot build something on nothing,” he queried. 

Ukwen described the process the state government had adopted in the appointment of the chief of Takum as a sham and had fallen short of both historical and traditional standards.

He called on the Kuteb people to remain calm as the matter was already before the court of law. 

The stool of Ukwe Takum, traditionally a Kuteb stool, has remained vacant since the death of the last Ukwe Takum in 1996, following agitations by the Chamba tribe in Takum local government area of the State to also have a shot at the Stool.

The Kuteb kingmakers have since dragged the State government before a Jalingo High court challenging any attempt by Governor Agbu to appoint a Chamba tribe as Chief of Takum as proposed by the government. 

The last administration of Governor Darius Ishaku made attempts to install a new Ukwe but could not succeed. However, the Kefas led administration has sponsored a law at the State House of Assembly that has abolished the seat of Ukwe Takum and replaced it with the Chief of Takum which will be rotational among the Three tribes of Chamba, Jukun and Kuteb, an arrangement Kuteb stakeholders have refused to be a part of.

At a nocturnal event at the Government House Jalingo, the State Governor announced the appointment of HRH Sopiya Ahmadu Gboshi as the new First Class Chief of Takum, along side HRH Uhwe Ephraim as the Third Class Chief,  Jukun-Takum Chiefdom, and HRH Suleiman Salihu as the Kur Garbabi Chiefdom.

Justice Ali Bappa Abare of Jalingo High court on Tuesday mentioned the case and dismissed the suit in a questionable circumstances at about 7.30 pm.

The State government quickly assembled the appointed Chiefs and government officials at about 8.30 pm, one hour after the court judgement and sworn in the newly appointed first class Chief of Takum, suggesting a pre-planned action, including remote controlling the court judgement. 

Meanwhile,  Festus Idepefo  (SAN) counsel to the Kuteb  described the judgement  and the  hasty way of the installation of the new king of Takum as a surprise and ellien. 

Idepefo noted that his clients were not satisfied with the judgement and have directed him to challenge the judgement in the  court of appeal. 

Apex News Exclusive reports that tension went high in Takum local government Last night shortly after the news of the appointment of the new first class Chief filtered into Takum. 

Takum is the hometown of a former Defense Minister Gen. T.Y. Danjuma (rtd).

It was gathered that a detachment of soldiers and police were drafted to the streets of Takum throughout the night of Tuesday.