By Henry Ibya, Makurdi
A community leader in Nasarawa State, Dennis Gbongbon, has reacted to the position of the Alago Ikweyi Gbayi Development Union rejecting the proposed establishment of a Tiv Chiefdom in Imoon, Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The Alago group’s position followed reports that Governor Abdullahi Sule, during a meeting with a delegation of the Tiv Development Association, TIDA, announced government’s plan to establish a Tiv Chiefdom.
Setting the records straight in a statement made available to journalists, Gbongbon said the Alago union’s rejection was not only insensitive but a clear misrepresentation of historical and demographic facts in Nasarawa South Senatorial District.
He said the Alago and Tiv are the largest dominant ethnic groups in Nasarawa South, which covers five local government areas of Lafia, Doma, Keana, Obi and Awe, adding that verifiable records show the numerical strength of the Tiv in the zone.
Gbongbon recalled that although the 1991 and 2006 population censuses did not break down figures by ethnic groups, the 1963 census recorded the Tiv as the most populous ethnic group in Nasarawa South, accounting for 49.2 percent, while the remaining ethnic groups of Alago, Gwandara, Koro and Afo shared the remaining 50.8 percent.
He noted that the Tiv have a long history of political representation in the area, stating that at the return of civilian rule in 1979 under the old Plateau State structure, a Tiv man, Hon. Athanasius Tyo, won election to represent the Awe/Keana/Doma Federal Constituency, and in 1983, another Tiv man, Hon. Emmanuel Orshio Gusa, also won to represent the same constituency before the military takeover.
According to him, after the return of civil rule in 1999, it was again a Tiv man, Hon. Michael Koko, who represented Doma South Constituency in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly and won re-election in 2003, serving two terms from 1999 to 2007.
Gbongbon lamented that despite this historical background, the indigenous Tiv of Nasarawa State have in recent years faced displacement, with many relocating to IDP camps in Benue and surrounding border communities.
He cited the March 13, 2025 press conference by the Mzough-u-Tiv, Nasarawa State chapter in conjunction with TIDA in Abuja, where the group pleaded that they are bona fide indigenes of their communities and ancestral farmlands where they are being forced to leave.
He also referenced the petition by the United Tiv Farmers Association, Kadarko, UFAK, in December 2025, which listed alleged attacks and sacking of Tiv villages in the state.
The community leader questioned the rationale behind the opposition to a Tiv Chiefdom, noting that at the creation of Nasarawa State in 1996, there were only three first-class chiefdoms of Keffi, Lafia and Nasarawa, but between 1999 to date, additional 25 first-class chiefdoms have been created, bringing the total to 28.
He said while far smaller ethnic groups have gotten their own chiefdoms, not a single one has been created for the indigenous Tiv in Nasarawa State by successive administrations, a development he said has effectively placed the Tiv under the control of even smaller groups in areas where they are found.
Gbongbon argued that if smaller ethnic groups have been granted chiefdoms, there is no justification to deny the Tiv, whom he described as indigenous and historically the most populous in Nasarawa South, the same right, especially in Imoon, Obi Local Government Area, where they have lived for generations.
He called on the state government and stakeholders to disregard the Alago Ikweyi Gbayi Development Union’s position and consider the proposed Tiv Chiefdom in Imoon as a matter of justice, inclusion and recognition of indigenous rights
