A group, the West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP), Nigeria, has called on the Federal Government to implement in full the report of the Ledum Mitee Technical Committee on the Niger Delta as a gold standard for the sustainable development of the region.
The Secretary, Board of Directors of the network, Ms Bridget Osakwe, who stated this at the 11th General Assembly of WANEP Nigeria in Port Harcourt, also called for the establishment of a world-class peace and conflict resolution institute in the country.
She said the Ledum Mitee committee report offered sufficient recommendations on the best practicable ways to leap-frog the sustainable development of the region, stressing that there was really no need for new committees to work out fresh strategies and platforms for driving development in the Niger Delta.
Osakwe noted that out of the whole lot of recommendations, only the aspect that concerns amnesty for repentant militants had been implemented, and insisted that the Federal Government’s seemingly lack of commitment to addressing all other issues raised in the committee report was responsible for the resort to militancy and agitations in the region.
Explaining the mission and vision of the network, she stressed that WANEP was founded in 1998 with the aim of promoting peaceful co-existence throughout the West African sub-region, adding that the group since inception has been involved in capacity building of both individuals and organisations in the art of peace-building and conflict resolution in the region.
She added that over 12,000 Nigerian women have benefited from the capacity building initiatives of WANEP on peace sustenance and consolidation, emphasing that “In 2015, WANEP Nigeria commissioned a national survey to assess the impact of the network on peace and security issues in Nigeria.
Earlier, Chairman of the board, Barinem Vulasi, said that the meeting would provide opportunity for members to reflect on the impact the organisation has made on peace and security in the nation, and urged members to think out of the box on emerging security challenges, which threaten the foundations of the country, and find lasting solutions to addressing them frontally for the peace and stability of the nation.
