The Secretary of the Ibi Traditional Council, Alhaji Nurudden Hassan Galadima, has dismissed reports suggesting the existence of a traditional title known as Ter Tiv Ibi in the Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the secretary refuted claims that the Second Class Chief of Ibi, Alhaji Abubakar Salihu Danbawuro III, had approved the installation of Japhet Iorapuur Mkar as the first substantive Ter Tiv Ibi.

“The paramount ruler has never given consent to any Tiv individual in Ibi to hold such a traditional position,” Galadima clarified, adding that, “the public should note that there is no substantive traditional head called Ter Tiv Ibi in Ibi Chiefdom.”

He also warned against attempts to legitimise such a title, urging elders of the Ichongu and Ipusu clans, along with other Tiv communities in the area, to avoid creating or endorsing traditional leadership positions without the council’s approval.

Galadima emphasized that there would be no zoning of leadership roles among the Ichongu, Nonguv, Ihyarev, Ugondu, and Turan clans, as no such traditional stool exists in the Ibi Chiefdom.

The statement, as observed by The Guardian, also condemned reports that purported kingmakers from the Tiv clans had elected Japhet Mkar as the Ter Tiv Ibi.

“Our paramount ruler, His Royal Highness Alhaji Abubakar Salihu Danbawuro III, has not been in Ibi for over two weeks. Using his name to justify these false claims is mischievous, misleading, and unacceptable,” the Secretary stated.

He called on the Tiv community in the area to disregard the reports and avoid actions that could incite tension or undermine the authority of the Ibi Chiefdom.