A conflict prevention and mitigation dialogue has been held in Abakaliki with the recommendation that a multidimensional approach should be adopted in resolving crises.
The dialogue by the USAID – State Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness (State2State) Activity also advocated the eradication or reduction in conflict in order for communities to maximise the gains of democracy and good governance.
Declaring the dialogue open, Commissioner for Border Peace and Conflict Resolution in Ebonyi State, Donatus Ilang reminded the different communities in the state to live in peace and harmony with one another and not resort to actions that could promote conflict.
Represented by the Head of Conflict Resolution in the ministry, Ifeanyi Igurube, the commissioner emphasised the importance of dialogue in settling conflicts.
In his remarks, the Ebonyi State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Scam Nwokolo, recommended that more efforts should be allocated to issues of conflict resolution and called on the church and the media to do more.
While enumerating various setbacks that could be suffered as a result of conflict, the CAN chairman, encouraged Ebonyi people to be supportive of efforts of Governor Francis Nwifuru to restore peace in all conflict areas, including Ezza-Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.
Another participant at the dialogue and a member of the National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Dom Isute, enjoined the people in authority to abhor those things that are capable of generating conflicts.
Isute, who was once a national officer of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, made it clear that conflicts would reduce if those in government did what they are supposed to do.
Earlier, a State2State Conflict Specialist, Cosmos Dinee, explained that the dialogue was a quarterly programme of the intervention in the areas of public finance management and how it can affect service delivery in education, healthcare and building of infrastructure vis-a-vis conflict.
According to him, the dialogue is an attempt to build a conflict sensitivity mechanism in governance.