The Presidency has attributed the lingering insecurity and communal conflicts in Nigeria’s North-Central region to persistent issues such as land-grabbing, banditry, and illegal mining.
Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement (North-Central), Dr Abiodun Essiet, disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. She was flanked by her counterparts from the North-West, South-East, and South-West regions.
According to Essiet, the violence in the North-Central region has deep historical roots tied to land ownership disputes, resource competition, and exploitation by armed groups.
She said, “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.”
Essiet revealed that the Federal Government had established community peace structures across 121 local government areas — including 32 in Niger, 21 in Kogi, and 23 in Benue, with deployment set to begin this week in all 17 local government areas of Plateau State.
She explained that these structures would include traditional rulers, farmers’ associations, Fulani groups, youths, and women working together to promote reconciliation and prevent communal clashes.
Essiet also highlighted poor infrastructure as a key contributor to insecurity, particularly along the Kogi–Kwara corridor, which she described as a “safe haven for bandits” due to the deplorable road network.
She noted that President Bola Tinubu had directed relevant ministries to prioritise road repairs and other infrastructure development in the region to support security operations and boost economic activity.
Speaking on the situation in the North-West, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Abdullahi Tanko-Yakasai, said efforts were ongoing to reduce the high number of out-of-school children.
He disclosed that vulnerable children were being enrolled in schools and provided with uniforms, books, and learning materials.
“Our aim is to give every child in the North-West a chance at education and a better future,” he said.
Tanko-Yakasai also pointed to agricultural progress recorded this season but noted that fertiliser access remained a challenge. He said the President had promised to address the issue, while his office was also supporting voter registration drives and public awareness campaigns on the new student loan scheme and ongoing tax reforms.
For the South-East, Senior Special Assistant Chioma Nweze said the region had launched a Citizens’ Assembly to foster better understanding and engagement with government policies.
She observed that federal projects were beginning to restore citizens’ confidence in the government. “It’s been long since we saw a federal presence in the Southeast. But now, we are seeing a lot of road construction courtesy of this administration,” she said.
Nweze further disclosed that the Monday sit-at-home order was losing traction, while the President had pledged to support youth skill development and agricultural initiatives across the region’s 95 local government areas.
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