The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North Central), Abiodun Essiet, has commenced a three-day community engagement visit to Benue State aimed at strengthening dialogue on security, border management and community relations.
The visit is designed to deepen collaboration between government institutions and citizen platforms, including the Citizens’ Assembly, while ensuring that interventions arising from the engagement are sustained after the exercise.
Essiet paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, where she briefed him on the objectives of the three-day engagement and shared feedback gathered from communities on local disputes and peacebuilding efforts.
Governor Alia, in his remarks, noted that the poor condition of some federal roads complicates security challenges by limiting rapid access for security agencies to certain communities.
He pledged the support of the state government and directed the departments responsible for Peace and Reconciliation as well as Community Engagement to work closely with Dr. Essiet’s team throughout the visit to ensure alignment with the state’s ongoing initiatives.
Earlier, the Benue State Deputy Governor, Samuel Ode who recieved the Presidential aide briefed on the state government’s ongoing efforts to address security challenges and manage border issues affecting communities.
Ode also highlighted existing collaboration with neighbouring states such as Taraba State and Nasarawa State to tackle cross-border security concerns, land disputes and other community-related matters.
He assured the presidential aide of Benue State government’s commitment to resolving boundary issues affecting residents.