By Brave Dickson
An international non-governmental organization known as the search for common ground (sfcg) has scaled up its peace intervention in the Niger Delta Region with the aim of deepening peace in more parts of the region.
Speaking to our correspondent at the end of its second phase project meeting in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the Rivers State Coordinator of sfcg, Mr Cosmos Dinee said the meeting was to seek the recommendations of stakeholders in selecting more LGAs and communities in Rivers State where sfcg will intervene.
He said: “Today’s meeting was a very unique one. A small meeting with a definite goal and purpose. In the work of search for common ground in Rivers State, there is a need for expansion of our scope.
“So, we are trying to reach out to more local government areas and communities than we had worked before on the first phase of the project which ended on 30th September this year. We worked in three LGAs and three communities in those LGAs.
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“So going forward, we have begun the second phase which will last till December 2020 and we have added four more LGAs making a total of seven LGAs for Rivers State.
“We have some critical stakeholders that have been with us on this process. We believe so much in their experience and recommendations, so we called to engage with them to help identify possible areas of engagement.
“We have given criteria for selection while looking at prevailing conflicts, violent situations and flashpoints as well as the economic importance of those areas. They have made their recommendations and we have taken it up from where they suggested.
“At the end of this meeting, we have come up with the list of suggested LGAs across all three senatorial districts of Rivers State. One thing that this meeting addressed is the need to cover all three senatorial districts in Rivers State. In the first phase, we covered only two senatorial districts in Rivers State.
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“And we are saying that there should be inclusivity. So, in this phase, we are going to touch on all three senatorial districts and spread into more LGAs and communities. So, going forward, we will take the message back to the leadership of search for common ground and the leadership’s decision will be based on the recommendations that have been made.”
In their separate contributions during the meeting, Mr Bamene Tanen of Radio Rivers, Mr Emmanuel Ogbumgbada of NDLEA, Mrs Asher Benson of the media, Chief Lucky Duumaa of NGO, Barr Young Tamuno of NOA and Mrs Deborah Effiong of NGO commended sfcg for making its second phase peace intervention to cut across the three senatorial districts in Rivers State.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of sfcg Peace Architecture Dialogue and Deputy National Secretary of Pan Niger Delta Forum, Hon. Ken Robinson commended sfcg for the peace it has brought to the Niger Delta Region through its peace intervention project and pledged the full backing of PANDEF at all times.
While delivering the closing remarks, the Head of Office of sfcg for Niger Delta, Mr Borve Paago attributed the peace achieved so far in the region to various roles the stakeholders of the region played and urged them to keep preaching the message of peace in their respective domains.
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