Lalong charges religious, community leaders on peace

Governor Simon Lalong Wednesday charged religious, traditional and community leaders to put in their best to ensure that the hard earned peace in the state is not thwarted.

He said, as collaborators in the affairs of his administration, they should not sit back to see the state fall back to the years of crisis.

Lalong made the charge at the strategic engagement meeting, held at Government House, to find ways of averting further escalation of Tuesday’s upheavals that led to the killings and destruction of properties as a result of the #EndSARS protest in some parts of Jos North and Jos South LGAs.

He said: “As collaborators and partners in our inclusive governance architecture, l have once again convened this interface to update you and equally solicit for your input as to the way forward in consolidating on the calm atmosphere that has been restored in the affected areas.

“Peace is a priceless commodity that we cannot do without.”

He said from the crisis that the state and its people have witnessed in previous years, they have to do everything possible to ensure that those dark days do not return.

“As traditional, community, and religious leaders, you have a great role to play,” he said.

Lalong directed them to take lawful measures to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order in their domains, warning that, “Government shall hold you accountable for any breach of the peace if you fail to take necessary steps to maintain peace.”

He tasked them to engage and sensitise their people to the fact that violence has no place in the new Plateau they are nurturing.

“Rather than embarking on the destruction of lives and properties at the slightest provocation, there are legitimate avenues to ventilate grievances in a democracy,” he stated.

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