Tinubu okays N2bn relief for victims of Plateau attack

President Bola Tinubu has approved N2bn in relief support for victims of the March 29 attack in Angwan Rukuba, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Mohammed Dorro, announced on Tuesday at State House, Abuja.

Dorro disclosed during a three-hour interactive session between Tinubu and a 32-man delegation of Plateau State stakeholders.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed on Wednesday titled ‘Plateau Leaders Commit To Peace At Interactive Session With President Tinubu; FG Approves N2bn For Victims.’

It read, “At the interactive session, which lasted about three hours, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and

“Poverty Alleviation, Dr Mohammed Dorro, announced that President Tinubu had approved N2bn in relief support for victims of the March 29 attack in Angwa Rukuban, Jos.”

This follows a promise the President made during his emergency visit to Jos on April 2, days after gunmen attacked residents of Angwan Rukuba returning from Palm Sunday church services, killing over 27 people.

The massacre is among the deadliest single incidents in Plateau State in recent history.

At the April 2, town hall in Jos, Tinubu had asked Dorro to compile numerical data on victims and their losses as the basis for a compensatory intervention.

The delegation included all living former governors of the state; Senator Simon Lalong, Senator Jonah Jang, Chief Joshua Dariye and Sir Fidelis Tapgun, as well as the Emir of Wase, Mohammed Haruna, the Gbong Gwon Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Dunka Gomwalk, Rear Admiral Samuel Atukum (retd.), former Military Governor, Air Marshal JD Wuyep (retd.), former Chief of Air Staff, former Deputy Governor and Minister Dame Pauline Tallen, the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Naanlong Gapyil Daniel, APC National Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, and former Deputy Speaker and current House of Representatives member, Idris Wase.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who led the delegation, pledged the state’s commitment to supporting the peace initiative and noted the historic significance of having all former governors of the state in one room.

“Our coming here today shows that there is a renewed spirit on the Plateau that we want to be together.

“We are determined more than ever to close all our gaps, ensure that we rise above all the divides of religion and ethnicity, and build a state we can all be proud of,” Mutfwang said.

He added that the state was “determined to look aggressively at how to turn conflict into profit” by pulling its people out of poverty under Tinubu’s leadership.

The Gbong Gwon Jos used his remarks to press the President on several outstanding commitments, including the deployment of more troops, the installation of the 5,000 AI-enabled CCTV cameras Tinubu promised during the April 2 visit, and the creation of state police.

He also called for federal intervention to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes ahead of the rainy season, and commended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for visiting the state twice with relief materials following the security incidents.

The President told the delegation to return home with open minds and a mandate to review past government white papers and gazettes on the state’s recurring crises, and to bring back implementable resolutions.

He also announced a N2bn relief package and vowed federal action against identified troublemakers.

“No protocols, no hindrances, we are here to speak our minds and find a permanent solution to a recurring conflict and chaos.

“Let us first of all accept one resolution, tolerance for every inhabitant.

“If people are being recruited to provoke anger, conflict and killings, it is you, the leaders, that should first of all examine yourselves,” Tinubu said.

He directed the governor to identify and name agents provocateurs so they could face the full weight of the law, and called on Plateau’s leadership to make justice, fairness and the integration of other ethnic groups central to the state’s peace-building efforts.

“To stop creating orphans, widows and widowers, there must be an enduring peace in the state,” he said.

Former Deputy Speaker Idris Wase, in his contribution, stressed the need for rule of law enforcement and identified drug abuse as a significant driver of the insecurity in the state.