A pro-peace group, Partners for Peace in the Niger Delta, P4P, has made known its intention to partner media in Akwa Ibom State in its advocacy for peace building in communities across the state.
This formed part of the group’s agenda when it paid a courtesy visit to the Special Assistant to the Governor on Local Media, Akparawa (Prince) Emmanuel Sam, in his office at Government House, Uyo , on Friday.
In his remarks, Prince Sam thanked the organization for the laudable initiative which seeks to bring sustainable peace to communities and states in the region.
He stated that what Niger Delta needs now is total peace and unity in order to pursue the growth and development of the region.
“We don’t want to manage peace, we need total peace in the Niger Delta and the leaders and stakeholders must play a major role.
“Akwa Ibom is the most peaceful State in the region, we thank God for giving us a peace loving leader in the person of His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel, who has demonstrated that politics can be played without strife, violence or kidnapping.
“The governor has done a commendable work in building peace and rehabilitating communities that were engulfed in crisis. As the National Leader of Akwa Ibom Liberation Movement, AILM, I’m happy to partner with another group whose objective aligns with ours.
“One of our roles is to advocate for sustenance of the peace we are enjoying under Governor Udom Emmanuel even after he has left office.
“In the course of our work, we’ve however discovered that there are a lot of dysfunctional and broken homes and this affects the peace in our communities,” he stated.
Prince Sam also pointed out that it is important to discourage young men from joining cultism, indulging in abuse of illicit drugs and dissuade politicians from arming youth for political thuggery.
He made an appeal to the organization to go beyond peace building to investigate the root cause of conflict in families and seek to correct it through sensitization.
He therefore indicated interest to join the group in propagating peace and development in communities across Akwa Ibom State and other parts of the region.
Earlier, in his address, National Coordinator of Partners for Peace in the Niger Delta, High Chief Pius Akomolafe ( Ondo State rep), said that the group is a network supported by Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) with a mission to build social capital around peace building and equitable economic development by amplifying the voices of positive actors.
Akomolafe further disclosed that the group has representatives from all the states in the region with expertise in various fields of endeavour that are relevant to the peace building, adding that their work involves intervening in volatile and war prone communities in the Niger Delta to ensure peace, mitigate conflict and prevent criminalty.
The group is currently embarking on a conflict resolution and peacebuilding project in Itu Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.
