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 around security, border management, and community relations. As part of the visit, Dr. Essiet met with the Deputy Governor of Benue State, who provided an overview of the state government’s ongoing efforts to manage security challenges and border control issues.
The Deputy Governor highlighted collaboration with neighbouring states such as Taraba State and Nasarawa State in addressing cross border security concerns, land disputes, and other community related matters. During the discussion, the Deputy Governor assured Dr. Essiet of the state government’s responsiveness in addressing boundary and border-related issues affecting communities within the state.
Dr. Essiet also paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Iormem Alia, where she briefed him on the objectives of her three day engagement in the state. The meeting provided an opportunity to share feedback gathered from communities and discuss strategies for resolving local disputes and strengthening peacebuilding efforts. Governor Alia, in his remarks, also shared feedback from communities across the state, highlighting several pressing concerns. He noted that the poor condition of some federal roads has contributed to security challenges, as it makes it difficult for security agencies to access certain communities quickly.
To ensure the success of the engagement, the governor pledged the support of the state government and directed the department responsible for Peace and Reconciliation as well as Community Engagement to work closely with Dr. Essiet’s team. The department will monitor the activities of the team during the three day visit and align them with the state’s ongoing community engagement initiatives. The collaboration is expected to strengthen community dialogue, improve coordination with citizen platforms such as the Citizens’ Assembly, and ensure that interventions initiated during the visit are sustained after the engagement.