Tinubu releases N2bn for Jos v!ctims, tasks Plateau leaders on self-driven peace

Tinubu releases N2bn for Jos victims, tasks Plateau leaders on self-driven peace

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday okayed N2 billion for victims of attacks on the plateau even as he challenged leaders to stop relying on federal handouts for peace and instead return home to forge their own lasting solutions to the state’s endless violence.

The meeting was in fulfillment of Tinubu’s promise after his post-attack state visit, affirming federal support but ultimate local ownership for Plateau’s peace.

R-L: former military governor of Plateau State, Rear Admiral Samuel Bitrus Atukum (Rtd), former Plateau State governors Senators Simon Lalong and Jonah Jang, Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC National Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, former Plateau State governor Senator Joshua Dariye and Fidelis Tapgun, during Plateau State Stakeholders Meeting with the President at the State House, Abuja.
According to a statement issued by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, at the three-hour interactive session in Abuja with a 32-member delegation led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, the President dismissed endless talk of intolerance and urged the group—including former governors, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and youths—to act decisively.

He tasked them with reviewing past government White Papers on security crises and delivering implementable fixes, positioning the leaders as a self-directed “committee for peace.”

“No protocols, no hinderances, we are here to speak our minds and find a permanent solution to a recurring conflict and chaos. I have heard the leaders. Everybody here is seeking peace. How do we chart our path to that peace?

“Let us first of all accept one resolution – tolerance for every inhabitant. If people are being recruited to provoke anger, conflict and killings, it is you, the leaders, that should first of all examine yourselves,” the President said.

He stressed self-examination over blame, noting Plateau’s history as a peaceful hub for all tribes. “We all must find a way to accommodate one another. We must stop the situation where people are recruited to instigate tribal conflict and killings. I am glad that I listened to the youth.

“As leaders, you must go back home, summon a leadership meeting among yourselves, take the gazette, review the previous recommendations and agree to implement the White Paper. Bring to my attention any knotty issue that may arise and bring up an implementable resolution,” President Tinubu told the delegation.

The President warned against half-measures: “Leaders will go back home and summon the leadership mission. Pretend that I’m there. Or pretend that I’m absent. Because you are still going to give me a feedback. You are going to work as a one group committee. Thank God all the previous governors, former governors are alive and you are here. Thank you for the respect. And call one another. Ignore the governor’s committee if you have to or you incorporate them. Take that white paper or the Gazette that you have. Go through it among yourselves and agree to implement those white papers. Any naughty issue, bring it back.”

“Now, to the legislators over here, we are going to work together to establish state police on a national scale. And I believe once we have a state police, enforcement of laws and others will solve some of the take care of some of these problems. For us to stop creating widows, widowers, orphans, there must be peace. And then I as the president order you to go back. You have been appointed as the committee for peace. Go and search for it, look for it, resolve any additional steps that you want the government to take. And if you identify and you know the name of troublemakers, agents who want to continue killing or instigate killing, let us know.”

The delegation featured heavyweights like APC National Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, former governors Senators Simon Lalong, Jonah Jang, Joshua Dariye, and Fidelis Tapgun; Emir of Wase HRM Mohammed Haruna; Gbong Gwom Jos HRM Da Jacob Gyang Buba; CAN Chairman Rev Dr Dunka Gomwalk; former Deputy Governor Dame Pauline Tallen; Plateau Assembly Speaker Rt Hon Naanlong Gapyil Daniel; and ex-military governor Rear Admiral Samuel Atukum (Rtd).

While speakers cited indigeneship, religion, ethnicity, and farmer-herder clashes as root causes, Tinubu cut through: “We use the instrument of office to deal with them. The path is to walk with you, find a lasting peace to the problem. So that we can develop and bring prosperity to the people together. It is crucial. Lead your people back home. Lead your people to forget those committees you mentioned to me. If it’s not working, it’s not working.”

Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Mohammed Dorro announced N2 billion in federal relief for victims of the March 29 Angwa Rukuba attack in Jos North.

Governor Mutfwang welcomed the push, calling it a historic unity moment: “Our coming here today shows that there is a renewed spirit on the plateau; that we want to be together. We are determined more than ever to close all our gaps, ensure that we rise above all the divides of religion and ethnicity, and build a state we can all be proud of, because we are one of the critical states in this country that contribute immensely to the economy. And a lot had been lost over the decades that we want to recover. We want to thank you for your leadership that has engendered this new spirit of unity.

“Having gathered this momentum, we want to assure you, by God’s grace, that we will build on it to tell a better story in the years to come. One of the things that we are determined to look at aggressively is how to turn conflict into profit by making sure that, under your leadership, we bring our people out of the shackles of poverty,” the governor further pledged.

“By God’s grace, we know that you are with us, and we want to assure you that we are also with you. In your journey to salvage Nigeria, we are in this together. Thank you for having us over.”

“Some of the issues that have been politicized are being narrowed out and we will be able to move together because this is the first time all former Governors are coming together” Governor Mutfwang added.

Gbong Gwom Jos HRM Da Jacob Gyang Buba praised Tinubu’s leadership but sought more troops, CCTV, state police, IDP returns, and federal appointments for Plateau indigenes. Youths from Christian and Muslim groups vowed joint peace efforts, while Rep Idris Wase highlighted drug abuse and rule of law.