#MNDA_Reflections COMMUNITY-LEVEL ENGAGEMENT AT THE HEART OF MNDA STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT.

Nigeria  is  faced  with  renewed  issues  of  youth restiveness,  pipeline vandalization, kidnapping,  cultism,  oil  theft, agitation for Biafran Republic  and  other politically  motivated vices, and one of the major theater is the Niger Delta. For reason, there is need for renewed efforts to meet stakeholders at community levels. This would promote the peace and sustain development in the grassroots.

Designing  peace building  initiatives  and  ensuring  sustainable  peace  in  the  Niger Delta  region  is among  other activities  that are at  the center of the MNDA’s mandate. Hence, the government  through the ministry is taking  proactive measures to reduce the tension and agitation  that  have  become  recurring  events in the region’s rural communities, and making the promotion of peaceful co-existence  for  the  betterment  of   the  Niger Delta  region  and  the nation.

The  Ministry in order to fulfil this mandate organized a sensitization stakeholders forum tagged “Securing  National  Assets  and  Peace  for  Sustainable Development: The  Grassroots’  Approach’’, at Ode Aye community, Okitipupa  LGA of Ondo State. Speaking in Okitipupa, the Honorable Minister of State Prof. Claudius Omoleye Daramola, has maintained that the FG will continue to engage constructively with community-level stakeholders in conflict resolution and development in order to create a conducive environment  to  fast  track  the development  in the region.

He  added  that  the  President  Muhammadu  Buhari  led  administration  was  not  only  calling  for  better  ways of  resolving  conflicts  by  communities  but  also  undertaking  programmes  targeted  at  addressing  the socio- political  and  economic  needs  of  the  region’s  population, especially its  youths.  One  of  such  programmes is  the   training  and  empowerment  of  youths  in  various vocations  and   establishment  of  skills acquisition centres  for  the  training  and  empowerment  of  Niger  Delta  Youths  in  the  nine  states  of  the  region.

Prof. Daramola  also  flagged  off a free test on Malaria, Blood Pressure, Diabetes, HIV and  free drug administration  programme to  the  people at  the event. He  said  that   the  essence  of  the  health programme  was  for  the  people  to  know  their  health  status  so as to sustain healthy lives.

The stakeholders  consultative forum was attended by traditional rulers, opinion leaders,  youth and youth  leaders, non- governmental agencies, women and women leaders,  politicians  civil  and  public servants  from Okitipupa, Ilaje  and  Ese-Odo  LGAs  in  the Ondo South Senatorial District  of  the  State.