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By Emmanuel Oloniruha/Angela Atabo
Kukah Centre, Abuja, on Thursday said the National Peace Committee (NPC) project has helped to mitigate election conflicts and enhanced democratic stability in Nigeria.
The Centre’s Executive Director, Rev. Fr. Atta Barkindo, made this known at the public presentation of the Independent Evaluation Report of the Project Support to the NPC, in Abuja.
According to Barkindo, the UkAid, Foreign Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) project, provided assistance to the NPC through The Kukah Centre, to foster peace and stability in Nigeria before, during, and after the 2023 elections.
He said the evaluation report provided an analysis of the project which aimed to reduce fake news, ensure peaceful elections, improve voter behaviour, and train citizens in conflict resolution.
He added that the report revealed that the initiative helped to promote issue-based campaigns, reduced tensions, and enhanced conflict resolution abilities.
Barkindo also said as a result of the support, political candidates were persuaded to prioritise peaceful campaigning and discourse over violence and divisive speech.
“So far, the signing of the peace accord has helped to reduce the level of bitterness, and it helps citizens to hold candidates to account, especially when they come publicly to declare that they will accept the outcome of elections.
“To be honest, people have abided by the terms of the accord, because at the end of the day when the results were announced, no widespread violence occurred.
“Those that were aggrieved went to court according to the agreement of the accord. As far as we are concerned, the terms of the accord have been really complied with,’’ he said.
Barkindo explained that the report was initiated to highlight the roles that critical stakeholders could play, to curb the trust deficit citizens have in institutions across the country especially during elections.
He added that the centre decided to intervene morally by raising the voices of critical stakeholders, who were influential and respected to stress the value of peace building.
“So what has happened is that since 2015, the National Peace Committee has intervened effectively at the national level and then it has cascaded down to the state level.
“We got the support of the Foreign Commercial and development office to mobilise critical stakeholders like religious, traditional rulers of the same quality of the Peace Committee, both at the state level where they can provide those interventions.
“We cannot say we have achieved everything. So we did an independent evaluation of our successes and our challenges and we are today presenting it to the public.
“This is for them to further interrogate and to mop up ideas from the public on how we can improve our interventions and engagement, particularly at the sub-national level,’’ he said.
Ms Deborah Obafemi, Project Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Officer, at the Centre, while presenting the project’s overview, encouraged constructive communication among political parties and stakeholders.
This, she said, would lead to a more peaceful electoral process.
Obafemi added that the project to promote long-term peace building initiatives in Nigeria was significant, as it established sustainable conflict resolution mechanisms and strengthened community resilience against violence.
“Direct engagements with political parties and candidates emphasised the importance of lawfulness, contributing to increased awareness and promoting peace, reaching at least 17 million individuals through media actions.
“As a result of these efforts, voter turnout increased significantly, with a record number of citizens participating in the electoral process, marking a shift in the political landscape, increased trust in the electoral system.
“It decreased incidences of violence and voter intimidation,’’ she said.
Obafemi added that in the overall, the NPC efforts resulted in a more unified and peaceful Nigeria.(NAN)
Edited by Francis Onyeukwu and Abiemwense Moru
