President Bola Tinubu has deployed an emissary to Plateau State as part of renewed efforts to restore peace and strengthen intercommunal relations in the conflict-prone state, his spokesperson said Sunday.
Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, said Dr. Abiodun Essiet, Tinubu’s senior special assistant on community engagement (North Central), spent two days meeting Christian leaders, Fulani groups, traditional rulers and youth organisations to reinforce grassroots peace initiatives.
Essiet met with the Regional Church Council in Barkin Ladi, led by Chairman Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, where discussions focused on the role of faith leaders in promoting unity, stability and social development. She also met with widows and conveyed Tinubu’s message of reconciliation to Christian communities.
In a separate session, Essiet engaged Fulani leaders in Barkin Ladi to encourage dialogue between pastoral and farming groups, reiterating the federal government’s commitment to inclusive engagement.
The series of meetings culminated in a town hall in Jos that brought together representatives from multiple local government areas, traditional rulers, women groups and youth leaders. Essiet also led a workshop on establishing community peace structures across Plateau’s 17 LGAs.
During a closed-door meeting with the Irigwe community, the Miyetti Allah group and the Bassa Youth Council, stakeholders discussed strengthening a 17-member peace committee to improve dialogue and reconciliation efforts.
Onanuga said the outreach had already yielded results with the resolution of a dispute involving a farmer, David Toma of Agha Farm in Jos South, whose farmland was destroyed. According to him, MACBAN chairman in Bassa LGA, Alhaji Isah Yau, paid N500,000 compensation to Toma on Saturday, prompting the release of two cows seized earlier by the farmer.
“All parties have signed an undertaking to embrace peace in the state,” Onanuga said.
