Descendants of the ancient Kwararafa Confederacy, including the Jukun, Idoma, Igala, Yala, Ebira, and other groups, converge in Abuja for the first modern-day gathering of their kind, appointing AVM Monday Morgan as KDF president and signing the Abuja Declaration.
Abuja — September 19-20, 2026
Traditional rulers, governors, and thousands of delegates connected to the historic Kwararafa Confederacy gathered at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja for what organisers describe as the first modern-day assembly of its kind, a summit aimed at reconnecting communities descended from the old confederacy and presenting a unified development agenda to the Federal Government.
The Kwararafa Development Forum (KDF) said the event, held under the theme "Our Heritage, Our Unity, Our Future," drew more than 2,500 delegates and roughly 250 traditional rulers, alongside governors, National Assembly members, security officials, diplomats, and business leaders from across the ethnic nationalities historically linked to the confederacy, including the Jukun, Idoma, Igala, Ebira, Yala, Alago, Goemai, and others whose communities today span states across Nigeria's North Central, North West, North East, South East, and South South regions.
A Confederacy That Once Rivaled the Sahel's Great Empires
Historically centred along the fertile valleys of the River Benue, the Kwararafa Confederacy is remembered as a formidable multi-ethnic power between roughly the 13th and 18th centuries, one that clashed with and resisted the major Hausa states of Kano and Katsina as well as the Bornu Empire. Rather than ruling through forced assimilation, it is generally understood to have functioned as a loose federation of allied peoples bound by military cooperation and mutual defence, a structure whose descendants have since spread across more than twenty contemporary Nigerian states.
Aku-Uka Frames the Gathering as a Historic First
Chief host of the summit, the Aku-Uka of Wukari, His Majesty Dr. Ishaku Adda Ali Matakhitswen, described it as the first time in modern Nigerian history that peoples of the Kwararafa confederacy have gathered collectively to rediscover a shared identity, calling the assembly an opportunity to reclaim their history and build a lasting platform for collective advancement.
Governors Present, Insist Unity Doesn't Mean Division
Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas, who convened the summit, was joined in person or by deputies by the governors of Kogi, Nasarawa, and Plateau states — Kogi's Ahmed Usman Ododo was represented by his deputy, Comrade Joel Salifu — while other traditional rulers in attendance included the Emirs of Lafia and Keffi, the Attah of Igala, and the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland. Kefas was explicit that the forum's aim was national integration rather than division, framing the gathering as a heritage-based contribution to Nigeria's broader unity rather than a rival power bloc. He also thanked President Bola Tinubu, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and security agencies for supporting a safe environment for the event.
Security Named as the Region's Most Pressing Concern
Ahead of the gathering, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Chairman of the Forum's Media and Publicity Committee, identified insecurity as the most urgent challenge facing Kwararafa communities, saying it has continued to undermine economic activity and development across parts of Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Niger, and Taraba states. The forum called on the Federal Government to intensify security efforts, improve critical infrastructure, and help unlock the region's substantial agricultural and mineral resources — concerns that echo the security-and-development framing at the heart of the separate NCDC 20-Year North Central Development Plan summit held earlier this month.
Abuja Declaration Signed, Compendium Unveiled
The summit's centrepiece outcomes were the formal signing of an Abuja Declaration and the public presentation of a Kwararafa Compendium, intended to give the forum's aspirations a documented, lasting reference point. AVM Monday Morgan (rtd.), a former Chief of Defence Intelligence and holder of the traditional title Akii Kwararafa, was formally installed as KDF President in a letter dated August 27 from the Aku-Uka, tasked with leading the forum's push to reweave social and economic ties among communities long separated by modern administrative borders.
What Comes Next
Organisers say the Abuja Declaration and the priorities raised at the summit are intended to feed into ongoing conversations with the Federal Government on national unity, security, and equitable development — positioning the newly formalised KDF as a fresh advocacy platform for a cluster of ethnic communities spread across several of Nigeria's most security-challenged states, at a moment when the North Central zone in particular is already the subject of intense federal and state policy attention.
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