President Bola Tinubu has sent a senior aide, Dr Abiodun Essiet, to Plateau State as part of renewed federal efforts to stem recurring communal violence, farmers–herders clashes, and deepen intercommunal harmony across the state.
The visit was disclosed on Sunday in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Essiet, who serves as Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement for the North Central, spent two days in the state last week, meeting Christian leaders, Fulani community representatives, and grassroots stakeholders.
Her engagements included a town hall meeting in Jos, where traditional rulers, women’s groups, youth leaders, and delegates from several local government areas gathered to examine ways of strengthening community-led peace structures.
According to the Presidency, Essiet paid a courtesy visit to Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, Chairman of the Regional Church Council in Barkin Ladi, during which discussions focused on the role of faith leadership in promoting unity and social stability.
It was said that she also addressed a group of widows, delivering President Tinubu’s message on ethnic reconciliation.
In Barkin Ladi, she held a separate session with Fulani leaders aimed at improving trust and dialogue between pastoral and farming communities, a relationship that has often been strained by land-use and security disputes.
The Presidency said the meetings reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusive engagement across divides.
Essiet also convened a workshop in Jos to support the establishment of peace structures across the 17 local government areas.
Later, she met behind closed doors with representatives of the Irigwe community, the Miyetti Allah group, and youth leaders from Bassa LGA.
Discussions centred on maintaining dialogue, strengthening the existing 17-member peace committee, and consolidating reconciliation efforts.
Onanuga said the emissary reiterated the President’s "unwavering commitment" to peace and inclusive governance, describing community-based peace structures as vital to long-term stability in the North Central region.
A practical outcome of the wider peace push, he added, was the resolution of a dispute in Jos South involving Agha Farm owner David Toma and a group of herders after Toma seized two cows over damage to his farmland.
On 15 November, the MACBAN Chairman in Bassa LGA, Alhaji Isah Yau, paid N500,000 in compensation, leading to the cows’ release. All parties subsequently signed an undertaking to maintain peace.
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