Middle Belt Leaders Meet Tinubu, Discuss Security, Development, Political Support

Leaders from the Middle Belt region on Thursday met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to discuss issues affecting the region, including insecurity, development and efforts to mobilise political support for the President.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for the leaders to express solidarity with the President and discuss ways of sustaining efforts to address security challenges and promote peace in the region.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said the visit was to demonstrate solidarity with Tinubu and discuss how leaders from the region could mobilise support for his administration.

He said, “We are here to show solidarity to Mr President and, in the spirit of the season, which is all about politicking, to discuss matters that affect our community and how we can best help in mobilising support for the President, who has done so much for our community.”

On security, Dogara acknowledged that some parts of the region were still experiencing pockets of crises but noted that there had been remarkable improvement.

He recalled the security challenges that previously made travelling between Abuja and Kaduna difficult, noting that the situation had improved considerably.

“Of course, there are pockets of crisis in some places. We are short of declaring victory, but there has been remarkable improvement in these issues,” he said.

Dogara attributed some of the progress to strategic appointments of people from the region into government, saying they had demonstrated leadership in addressing the security challenges.

He expressed optimism that sustaining the efforts would help bring the region to a point where residents could enjoy greater peace and security.

Also speaking, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, said leaders in the state were making progress in rebuilding trust, promoting understanding and strengthening relationships across religious and ethnic divides.

He said the coming together of leaders at different levels would encourage residents to embrace unity and peaceful coexistence.

“We are making tremendous progress trying to make sure that leaders come together at various levels to rebuild the broken walls of trust, to rebuild understanding,” Mutfwang said.

The governor explained that leaders were demonstrating their commitment to peace by appearing together and consistently urging residents to unite, adding that such efforts would gradually influence communities.

He further disclosed that young people across religious and ethnic divides were beginning to initiate conversations and reconciliation efforts without necessarily relying on government support.

“Even among the youths, we are seeing a new vista in that direction where youth leaders across the divides of faith and ethnicity are beginning to have conversations without even government support,” he said.

Mutfwang described the development as encouraging, expressing optimism that the region could overcome the conflicts experienced in previous years.

He said the initiatives would be sustained to ensure that communities could work towards building a better and more peaceful society.

Those present at the meeting included President Tinubu; Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa; Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang; Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; former Minister of Defence, General T.Y. Danjuma; General Ishaya Bamaiyi; businessman Thomas Etuh; and Dr Poju Bitrus.