Atyap Chiefdom


Atyap Chiefdom is a Nigerian traditional state of the Atyap people, located on the upper Kaduna River basin of the central Nigeria plateau in the Middle Belt. Its headquarters is at Atak Njei, Zangon Kataf, Kaduna state, Nigeria.

People

History

The Atyap Chiefdom was created in 1996. In 2007, it was upɡraded to a First Class status.

Government

The Atyap Chiefdom is ran by the Atyap Traditional Council, with the A̠gwatyap as its head.

Districts

The Kaduna state Ministry of Local Government Affairs gave its number of Existing Districts as 16, Approved Districts as five and Approved Village Units as 61.

The Districts of Atyap Chiefdom

These are the districts between 1996-2017:
  1. A̠buyap
  2. A̠ga̠mi
  3. A̠pyia̠ Jhyinn
  4. A̠shong A̠shyui
  5. A̠tak Njei - Headquarters
  6. Bafwoi Ka̠nai
  7. Gan Ka̠nai
  8. Ka̠nai Mali
  9. Maba̠ta̠do
  10. Mafada/Masukwai
  11. Mancong
  12. Mazaki
  13. Ma̠nyi A̠ghyui
  14. Shilyam
  15. Zamawon
  16. Zonzon
However, these are the current five Government-Approved Districts from 2017 onwards, trimmed down by the incumbent Kaduna State governor Nasir Elrufai who accordingly said, as reported by that the committee set up to address the district administration in the state concluded that the proliferation of the number of districts from the pre-2001 era had created a financial burden for Local Government Councils. Hence, their reversal back to the pre-2001 era. Viz:
  1. Gora District.
  2. Ungwar Gaiya District.
  3. Gidan Zaki District.
  4. Zonzon District.
  5. Zango Urban District.

    Rulers

The ruling monarchs of the Atyap Chiefdom are known as A̠gwatyap.

Etymology of the Atyap Kingship Title

The word is derived from these two Tyap words a̱gwam, meaning monarch/king/chief and 'A̱tyap,' after the Atyap people, and literally means 'the chief/king of the Atyap'.

List of Rulers

The names of these rulers who reigned from 1996 till date are as follows: