President Bola Tinubu has vowed to deploy the full instruments of federal power against any persons identified as instigating or sustaining the recurring violence in Plateau State.
He promised that once troublemakers and provocateurs are identified, the government will act decisively against them.
The President also approved N2bn in relief support for victims of the March 29 attack in Angwan Rukuba, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The President made this statement on Tuesday evening during his meeting with leaders and stakeholders from the state, with visuals provided to our correspondent by the State House Media Office on Wednesday.
The gathering, which ended at about 8 pm on Tuesday, had Governor Caleb Mutfwang and all living former governors of Plateau State, including the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda.
Addressing the delegation, Tinubu said, “No protocols, no hindrances, we are here to speak our minds and find a permanent solution to a recurring conflict and chaos.
“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.”
He directed the governor to identify and name agents provocateurs so they could face the full weight of the law.
He also called on Plateau’s leadership to make justice, fairness and the integration of other ethnic groups central to the state’s peace-building efforts.
“If you identify and you know the name of troublemakers, agents provocateurs who want to continue killing or instigate killing, let us know.
“We will use the instrument of office to deal with them.”
The PUNCH earlier reported that Tinubu held long, closed-door talks with a delegation from Plateau State led by the governor.
Our correspondent observed that the delegation had waited several hours at the Villa before finally gaining access to meet the President.
Tinubu endorsed the newly assembled peace committee of former governors, charging them with reviewing existing white papers on the state’s conflict.
He also directed them to return with a consolidated set of recommendations for government action, adding that the group would be the primary interface for the peace process going forward.
The President said, “You are going to work as a committee. Thank God all the previous governors, former governors, are alive, and you are here.”
He urged the group to operate with urgency and flexibility, dissolving previously constituted government committees if necessary.
“Call one another. Ignore the governor’s committee if you have to, or incorporate them. Take that white paper, go through it among yourselves and agree to implement it.
“If the ones you have chosen before now are not working, you have to mix and amend membership.
“Forget those committees you mentioned to me; if it’s not working, it’s not working. Consider this group as the committee until we find a lasting solution,” he said.
The President renewed his push for state police, describing it as the most relevant solution to Plateau’s peculiar security challenge.
He noted, “Through the legislators who are here, we are going to work together to establish state police on a national scale.
“I believe that once we have a state police, enforcement of laws will take care of some of these problems for us.
“We must stop creating widows, widowers and orphans. There must be peace.”
Tinubu also called for structural changes in the state’s governance architecture, directing the Plateau peace committee to increase the recruitment of non-indigenes into government as a confidence-building measure.
“You have to recruit more from non-indigenous communities into your government,” he said, adding that the Federal Government was prepared to co-fund radio jingles and public campaigns against discrimination, division and conflict if resources were required.
Speaking at the meeting, the governor acknowledged the historic nature of the gathering, saying the convening of all living former governors of the state in one room had never happened before.
He said, “The coming together of the former governors has never happened before.
“This is the first time it is happening, and I believe that is a step we can build upon.
“Since we have closed the political space, I am sure some of the issues that have been politicised have been narrowed out, and we will be able to move together as brothers.”
Mutfwang pledged the state’s commitment to supporting the peace initiative and noted the historic significance of having all former governors of the state in one room.
“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,” Mutfwang said.
He added that the state was “determined to look aggressively at how to turn conflict into profit” by pulling its people out of poverty under Tinubu’s leadership.
Tinubu’s comments on state police followed an earlier request made directly by the Gbong Gwom, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, who told the President that security agencies deployed to the state needed larger numbers and better equipment to cope with the scale of violence.
“At a time when we thought we would overcome our challenges, these renewed attacks have alerted us to the fact that we have a lot to do,” the traditional ruler said.
He also reminded Tinubu of the promise he made during his April 2 visit to install over 5,000 AI-enabled surveillance cameras across the state, urging follow-through on the commitment.
The monarch called for federal intervention to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes ahead of the rainy season, and commended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for visiting the state twice with relief materials following the security incidents.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, provided data in connection with the President’s directive for the victims.
At the town hall, Tinubu had asked Doro to compile numerical data on victims and their losses as a basis for a federal compensation intervention.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the minister announced the President’s approval of N2bn for the victims of the attacks.
The statement read, “At the interactive session, which lasted about three hours, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Mohammed Doro, announced that President Tinubu had approved N2bn in relief support for victims of the March 29 attack in Angwa Rukuba.”
The approval follows a promise the President made during his emergency visit to Jos on April 2, days after gunmen attacked residents of Angwan Rukuba returning from Palm Sunday church services, killing over 27 people.
Former Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, in his contribution, stressed the need for rule of law enforcement and identified drug abuse as a significant driver of the insecurity in the state.
The delegation included all living former governors of the state; Simon Lalong, Jonah Jang, Joshua Dariye and Sir Fidelis Tapgun, as well as the Emir of Wase, Mohammed Haruna, the Gbong Gwon Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Dunka Gomwalk, Rear Admiral Samuel Atukum (retd.), former Military Governor, Air Marshal JD Wuyep (retd.), former Chief of Air Staff, former Deputy Governor and minister, Pauline Tallen, Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Naanlong Gapyil Daniel, APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, and former Deputy Speaker and current House of Representatives member, Idris Wase.
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