‘Return IPCR to presidency’

By Awaal Gata

Former Director General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Sunday Ochoche, has urged the federal government to return the institute to the presidency, for its mandate to be fulfilled maximally.

Ochoche made the call in Abuja at the public presentation of the “2016 Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA) and the National Action Plan (NAP)” which was put in place to deal with phenomenon of dysfunctional conflicts in the country.

He said the action would “make it live up to its responsibility of mainstreaming and building peace in the polity with better funding and supervision from the presidency”.

Ochoche noted that the Institute, at its formation, was under the supervision of defunct Ministry of Cooperation and Integration in Africa with direct supervision from the Presidency.

He appealed to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Mrs. Khadija Abba Bukar Ibrahim, who was the host of the event, to help advocate the move for better Peace Institute that would strongly entrench peace and stability in the system for sustainable development.

In his address, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative Lt. Gen T.Y. Danjuma represented by Brig-Gen. Habila Bintebe said the document was important and capable of transforming our national life in terms of peace building and stability.

Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) Mr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, who thanked the minister and IPCR for rolling out the document, said it was timely given the fact that the nation was confronted with a lot of challenges.

He, therefore, pledged UN’s cooperation with the Institute for better stability and peace in the region.