As part of his determination to restore peace and foster intercommunal harmony in Plateau State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dispatched an emissary to the State.
The emissary led by Dr Abiodun Essiet, Senior Special Assistant on community engagement in the North Central Zone arrived the State on Thursday and spent two days, during which met Christian clerics and Fulani Miyetti Allah community leaders.
The efforts culminated in a town hall meeting in Jos where delegates from various local government areas, traditional rulers, women, and youth leaders gathered to discuss ways to strengthen community-based peace structures and promote coexistence among diverse communities.
Essiet paid a courtesy visit to Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, Chairman of the Regional Church Council (RCC), in Barkin Ladi, where discussions centred on faith-based leadership and its role in promoting peace, unity, and social development.
Along with Dachomo, Dr Essiet addressed some widows and conveyed President Tinubu’s message of fostering ethnic reconciliation in the state.
Rev. Dachomo has been the loudest voice of Christian communities in the state.
Essiet also met with Fulani leaders in Barkin Ladi to foster dialogue and mutual understanding between pastoral and farming communities, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusive engagement.
Later in the day, she conducted a workshop on establishing a community peace structure for the 17 Local Government Areas in Jos.
Essiet also held a closed-door meeting with the Irigwe community, the Miyetti Allah group, and representatives from the Youth Council of Bassa LGA which mainly focused on sustaining peace and discussed how the 17-member peace committee strengthens dialogue, reconciliation, and coexistence between the two communities.
The presidential aid reiterated President Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to peace and inclusive governance, noting that the Community-Based Peace Structure serves as a key instrument for grassroots unity, dialogue, and long-term stability in the North Central region.
A statement on Sunday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said that a quick win in the peace efforts was the resolution of the conflict between David Toma, the owner of Agha Farm in Gyel district of Jos South and some herdsmen.
It stated that Toma seized two cows following the destruction of his farm, adding that on November 15, the MACBAN Chairman of BASSA LGA, Alhaji Isah Yau, paid a compensation of N500,000 to Toma, who subsequently released the cows. The statement also said that all parties signed an undertaking to embrace peace in the state.
