Twenty-one wives of Local Government chairmen in Adamawa State have embarked on a week-long leadership training program in Istanbul, Turkey, sparking outrage over the timing and funding of the trip.
The training, which began last week, is reportedly designed to help the participants “assist and advise” their husbands in performing their duties as council bosses. Senior officials from the Ministry of Local Government are also said to be part of the delegation.
The program, framed as a capacity-building initiative under recent LG autonomy reforms, has drawn heavy criticism from workers’ unions and pensioners. Many argue that the trip is “wasteful and insensitive,” pointing to months of unpaid salaries and pensions for LG staff and retirees across the state.
The development dominated social media discussions between September 22 and 24, 2025, with critics slamming it as another example of reckless government spending during a period of economic hardship.
Some questioned why the training had to be held abroad, while others pointed out that even the governor’s wife had not embarked on such a trip. One unnamed LG chairman from northern Adamawa has reportedly dissociated himself from the decision.
Calls are mounting for an investigation into the source of the funding, which many suspect came directly from local government coffers. As of press time, neither the Adamawa State Government nor the state’s LG Association had issued an official response.
