As part of Governor Umar Fintiri’s efforts to ensure peace, harmony and social integration across Adamawa State, on Monday inaugurated the peace conflict resolution and social integration commission in Yola.
The commission, which is established by Adamawa State Law No. 14 of 2020, signed into law and gazetted in 2022, is tasked with conflict prevention, non-violent resolution, and promoting harmony and peaceful coexistence.
Governor Fintiri, while inaugurating the peace commission in Adamawa, highlighted the genesis of the commission, linking it to his administration’s earlier intervention in the Numan Federation crisis, which had witnessed deadly farmer-herder clashes between 2017 and 2018.
He said, “This government had, upon assumption of office in 2019, commissioned a scoping study to understand the state’s security challenges, which led to the formation of a Technical Committee on the Security Situation in the Numan Federation in 2020.
“The work and recommendations of the committee laid the foundation for the creation of the peace commission.
“I am happy to tell you today, this template has given considerable results, and this commission is one of the key recommendations of that report.”
He commended the members of the technical committee and reaffirmed the state’s abundant human resources, saying: “If there is anything Adamawa has in reckless abundance, it is human resources. We must continue to maximally put these resources to use.”
A 19-member commission was appointed, which includes traditional leaders, representatives of faith-based organisations, youth groups, farmers, pastoralists, and government officials.
HRH Alhamdu Gladstone Teneke, Hama Bata, was appointed part-time chairman, while conflict resolution expert DJamila Suleiman serves as vice chairman.
Other notable members include AVM Nuhungu E. Nzokala (Rtd), Comrade Mohammed Bello, Imam Bashir Tahir Yola, Bishop John Shetima Chibok, and representatives from Maiha, Hong, and Toungo LGAs, traditional councils, youth bodies, farmers, and pastoralists.
While thanking them for accepting the responsibilities, Fintiri emphasised the importance of peace as a foundation for all development efforts, adding that peace and security remain a top priority under his administration’s recalibrated 8-point agenda and the Adamawa 2.0 blueprint.
In his remarks, Teneke, underscored the sacredness of peace, describing it as “pillar to pillar” of any society’s development.
He promised to key into the Governor’s Fintiri’s foresight and pledged the commission will do its best.
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