, Dr. Abiodun Essiet){kind=link}
The Nigerian Government is deepening strategic collaboration with the United States, US, to strengthen community peace building efforts and address persistent security challenges across the North Central region of the country.
The Senior Special Assistant to Nigeria’s President on Community Engagement (North Central Nigeria), Dr. Abiodun Essiet disclosed this to Voice of Nigeria after receiving a delegation from the Embassy of the United States of America at her office in Abuja.
Dr Essiet highlighted that the meeting focused on President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing community engagement initiatives anchored through her office, aimed at “fostering peace, strengthening social cohesion, and addressing long-standing grievances that fuel insecurity across communities in the North Central region.”
According to her, “discussions also highlighted the urgent need for deeper cooperation between Nigeria and the U.S. in confronting the evolving security threats affecting communities in the Middle Belt.”
Dr Essiet said; “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.
“The U.S. delegation expressed keen interest in understanding the root causes of the crisis and supporting efforts aimed at mitigating the crisis in the Middle Belt and promoting social cohesion.”
She noted that the U.S. team expressed a strong interest in understanding the root causes of the recurring crisis in the region and in supporting programmes designed to mitigate tensions, promote peaceful coexistence, and reinforce locally driven conflict-resolution mechanisms.
Dr Essiet commended the Embassy for its sustained partnership and commitment to peace building initiatives in Nigeria, stressing that such collaboration remains essential to achieving lasting stability across vulnerable communities.
“I appreciate the Embassy’s continued commitment to peacebuilding in Nigeria.” She added.
The delegation was led by the Deputy Political Counselor, Dianna Palequin, accompanied by the Embassy’s Human Rights Officer and Dave Young.