Peace committee condemns outbreak of violence over installation of chiefs in Taraba
By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
The Taraba Independent Peace Committee on Sunday condemned the breakdown of law and order in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of the state which led to loss of property and displacement of thousands of people.
This is contained in a press statement by Professor Talla Ngarka, the Chairman of the committee in Jalingo.
According to Ngarka, the crisis was linked to the installation of Chiefs in the state without due consultation with stakeholders by Governor Darius Ishaku, few days to the expiration of his tenure.
“The Committee understands that the situation in Karim Lamido was as a result of the installation of the Chief in the area by Gov. Ishaku without due consultation with stakeholders in the area.
“The Committee has also received reports that many more communities are bracing up to resist some of the Chiefdoms and districts recently created by the governor, especially in Takum, Donga and Bali Local Government Areas.
“As a peace committee, we are generally worried about the latest actions undertaken by the outgoing administration of Ishaku which has sparked some reactions across the State,” he said.
Ngarka noted that such actions without consultation were widening the walls of division and becoming threat to peaceful coexistence of the people of the State.
He said, “The creation of Chiefdoms and Districts ought to be a welcome development but doing so without wider consultations at the dying minute of the administration has led to an avalanche of court cases and heighten tension in the state.”
The committee chairman urged governor Darius Ishaku to engage in consultations that would create a peaceful state when he takes any decisions as he works to hand over to the incoming administration just as he said, the committee gladly join in the celebration of the outgoing administration if it hands over a peaceful Taraba to the incoming administration.
