Presidential aide engages Plateau clerics, Fulani leaders in fresh push for peace

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, Abiodun Essiet, has held a series of meetings with prominent religious and community figures in Plateau State as part of renewed efforts to strengthen peace and reconciliation.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu dispatched Essiet to the state as his special envoy on peacebuilding.

During the two-day visit, Essiet met with Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, regional chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi, alongside representatives of Miyetti Allah, traditional rulers and other community stakeholders. Her discussions with Dachomo centred on the role of faith leaders in promoting unity, peaceful coexistence and social progress.

Onanuga said Essiet also interacted with widows, delivering the President’s message on fostering ethnic reconciliation. She later engaged Fulani leaders in Barkin Ladi, encouraging dialogue between pastoralists and farming communities.

The statement added that Essiet facilitated a workshop on setting up community peace structures across the 17 Local Government Areas of Jos. She also held a closed-door session with the Irigwe community, Miyetti Allah and the Bassa LGA Youth Council, focusing on sustaining dialogue and strengthening the existing 17-member peace committee.

Essiet reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive governance and long-term stability in the North Central region, noting that the community-based peace framework is aimed at deepening grassroots unity.

A notable achievement from the engagements was the settlement of a dispute in Gyel district, Jos South, involving Agha Farm owner David Toma and a group of herdsmen, after Toma held two cows over the destruction of his farm.