The Minister of Special Duties, Mr. Kabiru Turaki, has
promised to intensify discussions with insurgent groups with a view to ensuring
a quick end to the security challenge facing the nation, the News Agency of
Nigeria reported on Friday.
This promise was contained in a Sallah message issued by the
minister’s Special Assistant (Media), Mr. Okey Muogbo, in Abuja.
Turaki is the chairman of the Presidential Committee on
Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in the North.
The message said the chairman and members of the committee
were aware of the enormous challenges in the dialogue process and reassured
Nigerians of the commitment of the committee to dialogue.
It said as patriotic Nigerians, they were committed to
discharging their duty of ensuring that peace returned to the North and by
extension, the whole country.
He urged members of the insurgent groups who have not yet
accepted dialogue to, as good Muslims, use the occasion of the Sallah to accept
the dialogue.
He also called on the insurgents to accept the dialogue
option offered by the Federal Government and come to the negotiation table.
“This is the only way to air their grievances and discuss a
peaceful end to the crisis in the North.
“The search for a permanent solution to the security
challenge in the North requires the efforts and commitment of all Nigerians,”
he stated.
He stressed that the committee had made progress in the
discharge of its mandate, including recommending the release of innocent women
and children detained by security agents.
This, Turaki contended, helped to ease tension and win the
trust of members of the insurgents.
He assured Nigerians that the ongoing discussions with the
insurgents who had already renounced violence would be intensified in the
coming days.
He said the committee expected more insurgents to accept the
dialogue option to give peace a chance.
“The business of ensuring that we have a more peaceful and
secured society is our collective responsibility.
“I pray that God will guide and assist us in this Herculean
task which my committee has been charged to bring to a successful end,” he
said.
Culled: Punchng
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