Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
A former Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, has resigned as chairman of the governing council of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR).
IPCR Resident Information Officer, Michael Abu, in a statement in Abuja, said Abba-Aji resigned to pursue his senatorial ambition.
“Distinguished Senator Muh’d Abba Aji has resigned his appointment as Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution.
“In his valedictory remarks at the Conference Room of the IPCR’s Director General, Senator Aji said his resignation was in accordance with the electoral law, hence he was at present, a senatorial candidate in the forthcoming 2019 elections.
“His resignation, according to him, was with mixed feelings because IPCR was the most important place to concentrate all resources in view of the diverse conflicts confronting Nigeria,” Abu said.
Abba-Aji who also spoke in a telephone interview, said he resigned in order to comply with the electoral act.
“I want to confirm to you that yes, I had valedictory council meeting today because I’m contesting election for the Senate for Borno Central senatorial district and the Electoral Act requires that I resign at least, 30 days before my election. So, that is why I resigned about 46 days in advance just to comply,” Abba-Aji said.
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Abba-Aji further said by the grace of God, he was confident of coasting to victory in the forthcoming poll.
Abu further said Abba-Aji expressed regrets that the institute was poorly financed, hindering it from carrying out mediation and other various interventions to recover durable peace and national cohesion.
“He said the institute suffered financial lack, much more that it cannot pay the allowances of members of the governing council that have been so committed to provide the leadership needed for IPCR.
“While expressing gladness in the efforts to transforming the institute into National Peace Commission (NPC), he appealed to the Federal government to properly mobilise the institute to carrying out peace-building activities to make Nigeria the most peaceful country in the world.
“He charged the directors and other staff of the institute to remain subservient to the Acting Director General who now oversees the affairs of IPCR for progress in a bid to fulfil the mandate by which the institute was established,” Abu added.
In his remark, the Acting Director General of the IPCR, Dr. Bakut Tswah Bakut, and members of the management team, commended Abba-Aji for his good leadership qualities, while wishing him well in his future engagements.