Senior Special Assistant, SSA, to the President on Community Engagement for the North-Central, Dr. Abiodun Essiet, on Monday, blamed the violence and bloodletting that have claimed thousands of lives in the North-Central region of the country on historical mistrust, land-grabbing, banditry and illegal mining, among other reasons.

Dr. Essiet stated this while addressing State House correspondents, after she, alongside other SSAs, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The other three presidential aides on community engagement that met with the President are; Abdullahi Tanko-Yakasai (Northwest); Chioma Nweze (Southeast); and Moremi Ojudu (Southwest).

She said the delegation submitted a unified assessment covering insecurity, infrastructure deficits, and citizens? response to government policies across all geopolitical zones.

The aides, who all told journalists about their updates during the meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, revealed that they presented briefing to the President on security and development situations in their various regions.

Essiet said insecurity in the North Central remained ?deeply rooted in unresolved historical tensions and resource conflicts,? warning that the situation had been aggravated by the activities of armed groups exploiting gaps in local governance and development.

?Our briefing focused heavily on insecurity, and we identified historical mistrust, land-grabbing, banditry and illegal mining as major triggers of violence. The President has promised to strengthen peace structures and ensure our communities are safe,? she said.

She announced that community peace structures had already been established across 121 local government areas, including 32 in Niger, 21 in Kogi and 23 in Benue, with deployment to commence this week in all 17 LGAs of Plateau State.

The structures, she noted, would involve traditional rulers, farmers? associations, Fulani groups, youth and women in conflict-resolution efforts.

Essiet further linked the worsening security incidents to poor road networks along the Kogi?Kwara corridor, which she said had become a strategic advantage for bandits.

According to her, the President pledged to liaise with relevant ministries to urgently address the infrastructural challenge.

In his briefing for the Northwest, Abdullahi Tanko-Yakassai said efforts were focused on reducing the region?s high number of out-of-school children.

He said his office had enrolled many vulnerable children in primary schools, providing uniforms, books and learning materials. While acknowledging improved agricultural output this season, he said fertiliser access remained challenging, adding that the President had promised intervention.

He also noted ongoing voter registration mobilisation and grassroots awareness on the student loan scheme and tax reforms.

?We are the bridge between the Federal Government and the grassroots,? Tanko- Yakassai said.

Presenting her assessment for the Southeast, the Senior Special Assistant, Chioma Nweze, said her zone had ?hit the ground running? through the establishment of a Citizens? Assembly aimed at enhancing community engagement and strengthening understanding of government policies.

She said a renewed sense of federal presence, particularly with ministerial appointments and ongoing road construction, was restoring public confidence.

?It?s been long since we saw federal presence in the Southeast. But now, we are seeing a lot of road construction courtesy of this administration,? Nweze said.

She added that the long-standing Monday sit-at-home directive was gradually losing steam and that the President had pledged support for skills acquisition and agricultural projects across the region?s 95 LGAs.

Also addressing journalists, the representative for the Southwest, Omoremi Ojudu, described the discussions as ?insightful,? noting that President Tinubu stressed the urgency of expanding enrolment for the National Identification Number (NIN) to strengthen identity management nationwide.

She said the team would scale up grassroots sensitisation to deepen understanding of the Renewed Hope Agenda and bolster peacebuilding efforts.

?We owe it to ourselves to safeguard this country. We have nowhere else to go,? she said, adding that the President had directed the team to collaborate closely with key stakeholders on livestock reforms in the North Central.

Representatives for the South-South and North-East zones were absent due to other official engagements.

The Presidential Community Engagement Team was established to drive grassroots mobilisation and provide real-time feedback to the Presidency on policy implementation. (Vanguard)

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