President Bola Tinubu’s senior aide on community engagement on Friday met with officials of the American Embassy in Nigeria to discuss measures being taken by the Federal Government to tackle increasing incidents of insecurity in the Middle Belt region.
Dr. Abiodun Essiet who is the Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement in the North Central region, recently visited communities in the region—which includes Benue, Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Kwara States—an area ravaged by banditry, armed assaults, and kidnappings.
During the visits, Dr. Essiet met with community leaders, Fulani representatives (Miyetti Allah), women, youth groups, religious leaders, and traditional leaders as part of the Federal Government’s broader peacebuilding initiatives across the region and the country.
Friday’s meeting she said, provided the American officials the opportunity to understand the root causes of the crises and exchange further ideas on mitigating them.
“Today, I received in audience a delegation from the Embassy of the United States of America in Nigeria at my office, led by the Deputy Political Counselor, Dianna Palequin, alongside the Human Rights Officer, and Dave Young.
“Our discussions centred on the President’s ongoing community engagement efforts through my office in promoting community peace and strengthening social cohesion across the Middle Belt, and the urgent need to strengthen collaboration in addressing the persistent security challenges facing our communities,” Dr. Essiet said in a statement made available to our correspondent.
According to the presidential aide, the American delegation expressed keen interest in understanding the root causes of the crisis and expressed the willingness to support current efforts aimed at mitigating it in the Middle Belt and promoting social cohesion.
Dr. Essiet therefore, expressed appreciation to the American Embassy’s continued commitment to peacebuilding in Nigeria.
