By Golok Nanmwa,Jos
Director General of the Plateau Peace Building Agency, Mr Joseph Lengmang on Thursday called on citizens of the state to shun all forms of Ethno-Religious hatred in the electioneering process which may undermine the successes or modest achievements recorded over the years in restoring relative peace in Plateau State.
He made this known while addressing selected media stakeholders at the premises of the Agency Today .
Lengmang acknowledged the role of citizens and all stakeholders for their efforts in ensuring a peaceful 2023 electioneering process in Plateau state while calling on the good people of the state to desist from any form of ethno-religious hatred and post-electoral violence.
“In every election there will always be one form of violent or conflict contestation and dispute over electoral outcome but generally the election was peaceful here in plateau state and we would like to commend the media on the coverage of the just-concluded elections.”
“We call on those who won to be Magnanimous and those who lost to show Grace in defeat. We need to collectively work together as it is no longer politicking but about governance.
Discontented individuals and bodies should adapt institutional mechanisms to address violations and seek redress rather than inciting dispute and using ethnoreligious hatred, as it undermines the successes of the electoral process and creates unnecessary wages among citizens due to political differences.” He Said
The Director General also disclosed that the meeting is aimed at strategizing and highlighting measures to manage the outcome of the just concluded election and measures to Mitigate conflict between herders and farmers as the wet season sets in Plateau State.
Speaking on the conflicts between Farmers and herders in the State, Lengmang stated that the rainy season in Plateau usually bruce tension between both parties and measures to ensure peace needs to be put in place.
“As the wet season sets in the media has a role to play in dowsing tension between Farmers and herders in the state. So far the peace-building agency has done a lot in terms of training both parties and creating platforms for them to share ideas and express their disagreements to build consensus.
It is important to consolidate this success by bringing to limelight success stories of the peace project, such as the joint building of a borehole by the Farmers and herders in Shandam as we continue to work towards improving peaceful coexistence in conflicting communities”
Lengmang also called on security, religious and other institutions to help in containing individuals trying to shortchange the efforts of the agency.
At the interaction, media creatives who were drawn from the print, electronic and new media were tasked with creating sustainable ideas for the Agency to sustain peace in post-election and among farmers and herders as the rainy season sets in.
