Minister: 2019 elections in Northeast shows Fed Govt is ‘winning the peace’

Minister of Interior Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) has said the successful conduct of last year’s elections in Nigeria and the Northeast was a testimony that the Federal Government had won the war against the terrorists.

Dambazau spoke while delivering a keynote address at the policy round-table on transition from an environment dominated by military operations to post-conflict civilian-led governance in the Northeast and Lake-Chad Basin region, in Abuja.

“The successful conduct of the 2019 elections in Nigeria and the Northeast region in particular is a testimony to the efforts by the Nigerian government towards making the region and the country in general a peaceful place for all.

“In the Ministry of Interior, we refer to this process of transition as ‘Winning the peace’, following the efforts of the military in winning the war against insurgency,” he said.

The Minister stressed that: “The pursuit of peace, security and sustainable development can only be achieved through renewed vigour, which the government has demonstrated by the recent inauguration of the North East Development Commission (NEDC). The NEDC is expected to coordinate all efforts – reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction- in the region.”

He said the government’s commitment towards the actualisation of durable peace, security, stability and development of the region was strong and unwavering.

Dambazau, however, expressed concerns that despite the effort of the current government to push terrorists out of the country, they were still operating in the Lake Chad Basin region occupied by Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

He added that: “It is within this environment that we must also be engaged in the management of IDPs and refugees; ensure the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure; rebuild education, health and agricultural facilities; providing security for liberated communities; reconciling communities and re-establishing civil authority for good governance.”

Dambazau expressed optimism that the gathering would provide the necessary platform for undertaking the transition from an environment that is dominated by military activities, involving counter insurgency and counter terrorism, to post-conflict civilian-led governance in Nigeria’s Northeast in particular and the Lake Chad Basin region in general.