Politics
GOV. Hyacinth Alia of Benue, says his administration is committed to ensuring peaceful co-existence and the protection of human rights of all people leaving in the state.
Alia stated this on Thursday, in Makurdi, in an address to mark the 2023 International Day of Peace.
He said peace was not only the absence of conflict, but the presence of harmony, understanding, love for one another and justice.
According to him, his administration has already institutionalised a framework to support peace-building and peace enforcement initiatives in the state.
The governor said he had also held an interface with local and international organisations, including UN agencies, to establish a robust foundation for peace in Benue.
He further said that his administration had equally strengthened the state’s Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, to serve as the main instrument for the actualisation of the peace framework.
He said several peace initiatives, including creating the right atmosphere for the return and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state, as well as ways of reducing violent conflicts, were being considered.
He said traditional rulers and Community Based Organissations, as well as other critical stakeholders in peace building, had all been carried along in the efforts to foster peace in the state.
Alia said keen attention had been given to conflict hotspots in Ukum, Oju, Konshisha and Gwer, as well as at border areas with Ebonyi and Cross River states, in order to create an environment conducive for growth and development.
He called on the international community to lend its invaluable support to the state through technical expertise, financial contributions, as well as by sharing best practices that would not only resolve conflicts in the state and country, but would also prevent recurrence.
Earlier in her address, the leader of the 2023 International Day of Peace, and the Director General, Benue State Peace and Reconciliation Commission, Mrs Josephine Haba, appreciated the governor for gracing the occasion, adding that no governor had ever honoured an invitation to mark the day.
Haba said the commission, an initiative of the governor, was working closely with the government and all international partners, to ensure that the IDPs were returned and resettled in their ancestral homes.
“We must make Benue work, development must return to Benue. Crisis or conflict is the most costly venture in the whole world, and prevention is also very costly. There is a saying that prevention is better, and even cheaper than cure.
“I am not just talking about the farmers and herders conflicts; I am not just talking of communal crises, but I am talking about the things that begin with us; our families, our relationships, our political affiliations and the need to bury our differences.
“And we are working closely with the governor to ensure that these people, (IDPs), that voted him into office will go back home and enjoy the development that God has sent him (Alia) to bring to the Benue people,” she said.
She called on the government and the commissioner for education, to ensure the reintroduction of Peace Clubs in all schools in Benue.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Benue Non-Governmental Organisation Network (BENGONET), Benue Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Industry (BECCIMA), Benue State Community Practice for Peace and Security, all made cases for the IDPs, farmers and the society’s vulnerable.
NAN reports that the theme for this year’s celebration is “Action for Peace: our Ambition for the Global Goals”.
NAN further reports that the groups held a walk round the capital, Makurdi, to mark the day before meeting with the governor. (NAN)
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September 21, 2023 @ 19:57 GMT|
Tags: Gov. Hyacinth Alia
