Having seen that conflict is endemic to human nature, Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has called on the staff of the commission to equip themselves with the necessary capacity to enable them serve as peace ambassadors in the region; owing to the fact that peace is very vital for the execution of projects and the rapid development of the region.
Ogbuku, who was represented by the Director Administration and Human Resources, Mr. Patrick Ekade, disclosed this during the Capacity Building Training on Conflict Management and Peace building for the staff of the Commission in Port Harcourt, recently. He maintained that building capacity among the work force in dispute and conflict resolution was necessary to achieve peace for development in the Niger Delta region.
He further explained that as a matter of fact, conflict was something that is unavoidably unavoidable as long as human beings are involved, hence it was necessary for the staff of the Commission to always apply diplomacy at the face of conflict inorder to always stand out as peace ambassadors in the region.
Speaking, Acting Director, Dispute and Conflict Resolution, Mr. Godwin Ogedegbe, expressed that development could only thrive in a peaceful environment, noting that for the commission to achieve its primary goal of facilitating development in the Niger Delta region, it was imperative to have a platform for constant interaction and mediation with the people.
He revealed that there’s urgent need for the commission to introduce peace ambassadors that will be responsible for resolution of conflicts between the Commission and communities or stakeholders in the Niger Delta region; While he attributed the successes achieved by the NDDC under the leadership of the present Board and Management to the establishment of Dispute and Conflict Resolution Department which had been playing the role of peace ambassadors.
“The department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution was created to resolve conflicts within the region, restore peace, ensure peace building and management of communal disputes within the region. This is because without peace, there will be no meaningful development, economic growth, social stability and dividends of democracy in the region, in line with the mission of the NDDC”, Ogedegbe affirmed.
Executive Director, Impact for Global Change, Dr. (Mrs.) Naomi Akpan-Ita, who spoke at the ceremony, charged the commission to evolve other strategies that could foster lasting peace in communities in the course of its activities; adding that
Conflict is part of life.
In her words: “With increased interaction, the likelihood of conflict is increased. In the event of conflicts therefore, the onus is on the Commission to handle them properly, to de-escalate such from getting to the point of crisis.”
