A mobilisation tour by the Gongola Peoples’ Forum (GPF) has yielded what participants described as a historic breakthrough, including the resolution of a century-and-a-half-old religious divide across parts of Adamawa State.
The tour, which is being conducted in phases, took a GPF team of experts to five local government areas in the Northern Senatorial District—Madagali, Michika, Mubi North, Mubi South and Maiha—where the organisation consolidated its structures at the grassroots.
Led by the General Secretary of GPF, Chief Barrister L.D. Nzadon, the delegation met with ward and council officials of the forum in each local government to set agendas and review priorities. Observers said the engagements revealed a shift from long-held suspicion to cooperation among indigenous communities previously divided along religious lines.
At the end of the meetings, GPF was unanimously endorsed in all five councils as the umbrella socio-cultural platform for indigenous ethnic nationalities in the Gongola Valley, with participants describing the experience as “gainful and rewarding.”
Resolutions reached during the meetings, according to communiqués issued, included the affirmation of GPF as a “state and national treasure” mandated to speak and act for indigenous peoples of Gongola. Delegates also agreed that while GPF is not a political party, it retains the authority to give political direction to its people, placing it “above partisan politics.”
It was further resolved that all indigenous persons whose ancestors have lived in the Gongola Valley since 1715 are automatic members of the forum. Participants also adopted Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri as a key political reference point ahead of the 2027 elections, citing what they described as his record-breaking performance compared to past governors.
The meetings also affirmed GPF’s non-violent and non-religious status, stressing that the organisation is “fighting no one” in the state. Another major resolution backed the continuity of newly created chiefdoms and emirates, with delegates insisting they must not be dissolved as in the past and calling for sustained collaboration between GPF and Governor Fintiri to protect them.
Participants across the five local governments praised the governor for creating seven chiefdoms and emirates, acknowledging GPF’s role in supporting and defending the policy, which they noted had previously faced stiff opposition.
Speaking at the end of the tour, Chief Nzadon said he was grateful that indigenous peoples were now able to “separate truth from lies” spread by critics of the forum, particularly on social media.
“While others were making noise online, GPF was on the ground working with the people,” he said, stressing that the organisation was not focused solely on the 2027 elections. “We are thinking in terms of ten, thirty and fifty years—about leadership, identity, language and destiny.”
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Nzadon vowed that Governor Fintiri’s legacy must be protected “at all costs,” describing it as essential to the progress of indigenous peoples of Gongola. He likened his commitment to that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying he was prepared to make the defence of the legacy his “last assignment” if necessary.
“Our ancestors fought and lost to occupying forces. With education and awareness today, we cannot afford to pass on defeat again,” he said.
Also speaking during the meetings, Prof. Baagire, who joined the tour from Minna, dismissed claims that GPF was a Christian organisation. He said misconceptions around Islamic teachings had wrongly discouraged Muslim indigenous minorities from associating with their ethnic kin.
Baagire argued that Islam does not forbid indigenous languages or cultural identity, urging Muslim minorities to join GPF and reclaim what they had lost through “misinformation and misguidance.”
The tour, stakeholders said, has set a precedent for broader mobilisation across the state as GPF moves to deepen its grassroots presence.
