The deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has said there could be no development or thriving democracy without peace, stressing that they were complementary to each other.
Kalu stated this in Abuja, while playing host to a delegation from German Initiative for Knowledge Transfer, led by its country director, Obinna Ichita, on a courtesy call in his office at the National Assembly.
According to him, without peace every effort to make impact, whether in politics, economics, will not work, noting that this led him to initiate the Peace in the South East Project, PISE-P, a non-Kinetic approach towards achieving peace in the South- east.
Kalu sought collaboration with the German agency to build rehabilitation centres and digital skills acquisition for the youths from the region.
He explained that PISE-P, which was unveiled on December 29, 2023 in Bende local government area of Abia state, “has eight cardinal pillars of education; agriculture; commerce/industry; infrastructure development; culture and tourism; sports/entertainment; governance/leadership and reconciliation/rehabilitation/reintegration to tackle the challenges.
“It is my profound pleasure to welcome you all today, especially our distinguished guests from Germany, as collaborators striving towards a unified goal – the advancement of knowledge, fostering peace, and strengthening ties through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
“We are looking for partners that will help us. We are coming with grants that will take them into training and help them start businesses. So, we are looking for partners that can work. With to build all these skill, rehabilitation centers where we can train people.”
Earlier, Ichita congratulated the deputy speaker on his peace project, saying his efforts towards achieving peace in the region, nation as a whole for the development of the country “is commendable.”
