After nearly three years of grassroots engagement, dialogue, and community-led interventions, a major peacebuilding initiative aimed at transforming criminality and violence in the Niger Delta has officially come to a close.
The project, implemented by Search for Common Ground (SFCG) in partnership with Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) and the Partnership Initiative for the Niger Delta (PIND), and funded by the European Union, reached 66 communities in 33 Local Government Area across Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta states.
At a close-out and dissemination meeting held on April 22, 2026, at Villa Toscana in Rivers State, stakeholders gathered to reflect on the project’s impact, share experiences, and discuss the future of community-driven peacebuilding in the region.
The event brought together community representatives, members of Community Peace Architecture (CPA), Local Peace Architecture (LPA), State Peace Architecture (SPA), traditional rulers, government officials, and members of the media, all of whom played roles in the project’s implementation.
Across Rivers State, the project combined peacebuilding with practical livelihood interventions tailored to community needs.
In communities such as Alode, Rumuolumeni, Krakama, Abalama, Odiohokwu, Igbisikala-Ama, and Soku, residents benefited from skill acquisition programmes designed to empower individuals economically.
Other communities including Kpor, Mbiama, Erema, Ogbakiri, Kono, and Lewe received cassava processing mills, enabling community-owned agro-processing and boosting local economies.
Market infrastructure was improved in Eneka, Kalio-Ama, Asarama, Alesa, and Songo, where community-owned processing sheds were constructed to support traders and small-scale businesses.
In Bundu-Ama, a long-standing sanitation crisis was addressed through the construction of a community-owned toilet facility, while communities such as Rumuekpe, Omoku, and Okporomo benefited from palm oil processing mills.
Additional communities including Obonoma, Ikuru Town, Okochiri, and Edecha also recorded community-owned interventions under the project.
Speaking at the event, the Director of Programmes at SFCG, Gift Omoniwa, described the initiative as a “proof of concept” that empowering communities can significantly reduce violence.
“In the past 30 months, we have fostered inclusive community security approaches,” she said. “We worked with 66 communities across Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta, supporting them to develop localized conflict resolution mechanisms and building trust between communities, security actors, and government.”
According to her, the project also leveraged art and culture to strengthen social cohesion, while facilitating policy dialogues at state, regional, and national levels.
“Overall, what we’ve seen is a reduction in conflict trends in the Niger Delta, and this can be attributed to the success of this project,” Omoniwa added.
She acknowledged challenges such as difficult terrain in riverine communities, initial resistance from some communities, and political instability, but noted that adaptive strategies and community leadership helped overcome them.
Beyond policy conversations and peace frameworks, the project’s impact was deeply felt in everyday lives especially in communities like Budu-Ama.
Peter O. Alali, Youth President and focal person of Budu-Ama, recounted how a simple intervention transformed public health and dignity in his community.
“For a very long time, Budu-Ama struggled with lack of public toilets. People resorted to unsafe practices, which caused serious environmental hazards,” he said.
That changed when the project engaged residents to identify their most pressing need.
“They asked us what exactly was affecting us, and we told them public toilets,” Alali explained. “With support from the European Union, we built a facility with multiple units for men and women, along with a solar-powered water system.”
Today, more than 5,000 residents use the facility.
“We subsidized access to make it affordable, and even made provisions for vulnerable people to use it for free,” he added. “It has reduced environmental hazards and improved the quality of life in our community.”
Alali also highlighted a shift in mindset among youths, particularly those previously involved in violent activities.
“This used to be a highly volatile community,” he said. “But through capacity-building and engagement, we now choose dialogue over confrontation.”
He noted that even groups once associated with violence locally referred to as “stronger boys” have been engaged constructively.
“There is now understanding and cooperation. Conflicts have drastically reduced because people are willing to listen and find win-win solutions.”
Traditional rulers at the event commended the initiative but called for broader inclusion and sustainability.
HRH King Temple Macdonald Jamala, representing the Chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, praised the European Union’s intervention but challenged local authorities to do more.
“If Europeans can sit in Europe and think about our communities, then our local governments should be able to do even better,” he said.
He emphasized the need to extend such interventions to underserved and underdeveloped communities.
“There are communities that have not been captured some of them are very poor and lack basic amenities. These should be prioritized,” he urged.
As the project formally concludes, stakeholders are calling for sustained investment to expand its reach.
“This project has only touched a fraction of communities in the Niger Delta,” Omoniwa noted. “In Rivers State alone, we reached just 26 communities. That’s a drop in the ocean.”
She appealed to donors, government agencies, and development partners to build on the foundation laid.
“Our doors are open. The evidence is there. We invite stakeholders to take over and scale this impact.”
While the close-out marks the end of one phase, many at the event agreed it should not signal an end, but rather a transition.
From improved sanitation in Budu-Ama to strengthened peace structures across multiple states, the project has demonstrated that when communities are given a voice and the tools to act lasting change is possible.
images of livelihood initiatives including skill training, cassava processing mills, market processing sheds, toilet facilities, and palm oil processing mills across benefiting communities
