By maryam Diallo
The USAID team on the Peace Action for Rapid and Transformative Nigeria Early Response (PARTNER) project has commended the Kaduna State Peace Commission (KSPC), for it’s effective Early Warning Early Response (EWER) mechanisms, and peace building efforts in the state.
The team equally lauded the activities of the Network of Peace Journalists (NPJ), working in collaboration with the KSPC to ensure peace-building and social cohesion in Kaduna State using the EWER mechanisms.
The USAID’s Stabilization and Governance Officer, Netlyn Bernard, gave the commendations at an evaluation meeting of the PARTNER Project with KSPC in Kaduna on Thursday.
Speaking shortly after the meeting, the KSPC Permanent Commissioner, Barr. Rebecca Sako-John, said the evaluation meeting has enabled the commission to share with the USAID team on what it has been doing in Kaduna State using the EWER mechanisms, which also featured the good work that the NPJ is doing.
She said the USAID team also visited the Commission’s Situation Room in trying to see that KSPC is able to work with other agencies and with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), situation room to capture all incidences and respond to them in a timely manner.
Barr. Sako-John said: “We have been able to share with the USAID team how KSPC relates with religious groups, law enforcement agencies in response to conflicts. “The USAID team was able to also confirm that KSPC is working in building social cohesion and harmonious coexistence within the state. I am happy the team is quite impressed with what they heard.”
In his remarks, Comrade Ibrahima Yakubu, the Team Leader of the NPJ, expressed his gratitude for being part of the evaluation meeting of the PARTNER project.
He emphasized that the Network has been instrumental to promoting interreligious tolerance and preventing conflicts, utilizing the EWER systems to address ethno-religious and political tensions in the state.
He also said the Network, which comprised of 50 peace journalists from various media organizations across the country, follows the “Do No Harm” principle in their reporting; adding that during elections, the Network actively engaged with political parties and other stakeholders through advocacy aimed at preventing conflicts.
Yakubu commended the KSPC for its dedication to fostering interreligious harmony and expressed the Network’s appreciation to USAID for the support and visit.
The PARTNER project is a collaborative effort sponsored by the USAID to promote early warning early response, peace-building and social cohesion in Nigeria.
Membership of the consortium of PARTNER include: West African Network for Peace-building, (WANEP), Kaduna State Peace Commission, (KSPC), Plateau Peace Building Agency, (PPBA), Mambayya House (Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Studies), and The Kukah Centre; while the intervention areas are in nine states of; Benue, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau and Zamfara.
