The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement, Abiodun Essiet, has met with Ezekiel Dachomo, the Plateaubased cleric, as part of peace-building efforts in the state.

In a statement yesterday, Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, said Essiet was deployed by the president as a peace emissary to the state. Essiet visited Dachomo, Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi, as well as Miyetti Allah representatives, traditional and community leaders during the two-day engagement.

Discussions between Dachomo and Essiet were said to have “centred on faith-based leadership and its role in promoting peace, unity and social development”. The presidential spokesperson said Essiet and Dachomo also addressed some other windows and “conveyed President Tinubu’s message of fostering ethnic reconciliation in the state”.

The presidential aide also met with Fulani leaders in Barkin Ladi to “foster dialogue and mutual understanding between pastoral and farming communities”. “Later in the day, she conducted a workshop on establishing a community peace structure for the 17 Local Government Areas in Jos,” the statement read.

“Dr Essiet also held a closed-door meeting with the Irigwe community, the Miyetti Allah group, and representatives from the Youth Council of Bassa LGA. “They focused on sustaining peace and discussed how the 17-member peace committee strengthens dialogue, reconciliation and coexistence between the two communities.

“Dr Essiet reiterated President Bola 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 longterm stability in the North Central region.”