Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed support for the proposed peace initiative starting in the South East, emphasising the necessity of finding a lasting solution to address the socioeconomic challenges affecting the region.
News About Nigeria gathered that he made this known while receiving a delegation led by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.
The Vice President emphasised the need for building bridges and handshakes to reach out to those who have not been radicalised and capture them.
The initiative which was presented by the delegation of The Peace In South East Project, is according to the delegates, a non-kinetic solution to the crisis in the South East region.
It is worth noting that the issues of insecurity in the South East have escalated in the last few years, with the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
The Eastern Security Network (ESN), was created to combat criminality and protect the local population but has however, had countless clashes with Nigerian security forces in recent years, furthering instability in the region.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, noted that during the visit, it was discovered after some needs analysis was carried out, that the South East needed a lot of help both in infrastructure and ecological problems.
He attributed these needs to the insecurity in the region, maintaining that a change and paradigm shift was needed from what it used to be to what it ought to be.
