By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto

SOKOTO:- The North East Youth Initiative for Development (NEYIF) Sokoto Regional Office has reported significant gains in peacebuilding, youth empowerment and institutional strengthening across the North West in the third quarter of 2025, marking a shift from isolated interventions to coordinated state and regional engagement.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday 31st December in Sokoto at NEYIF Sokoto regional office Conference Hall for July–September activities, NEYIF Executive Director, Comrade Dauda Muhammad Gombe, said the period reflected a strategic consolidation of efforts aimed at embedding peacebuilding within government and community institutions for long term sustainability.

According to him, NEYIF implemented organisational development and mentorship workshops in Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa and Zamfara states, targeting youth led groups, women organisations, educators and grassroots peace actors. The programmes, he noted, significantly improved participants’ leadership, advocacy and conflict management capacities.

The organisation also conducted a five day Training of Trainers programme for government and community actors, focusing on disaster preparedness, early warning systems, first aid and coordinated emergency response, in response to the growing nexus between insecurity, climate risks and social vulnerability.

At the regional level, NEYIF supported the North West Regional Summit on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) in Kaduna, helping to align state PCVE action plans with Nigeria’s National Action Plan. The summit laid the groundwork for a regional coordination platform to strengthen collaboration and information sharing among states.

In Sokoto State, NEYIF intensified policy advocacy with the House of Assembly and key ministries, deepening partnerships on youth inclusion, gender equity, humanitarian coordination and community based conflict resolution. Community monitoring visits, the organisation said, confirmed strong local ownership of peace initiatives, improved engagement with security agencies and the effectiveness of livelihood focused interventions in enhancing social cohesion.

Internally, NEYIF invested in staff development to boost planning, teamwork and adaptive programming, strengthening its capacity to deliver accountable and impactful interventions.

Comrade Gombe said overall outcomes in the quarter included strengthened government and community capacity for preventing violent extremism and disaster response, deeper institutional ownership of peace processes, increased leadership roles for youth and women, enhanced regional coordination, and the creation of sustainable platforms that outlive donor funding.

As the organisation enters the final quarter of 2025, he reaffirmed NEYIF’s commitment to building a secure, resilient and people driven North West Nigeria, calling on governments, communities and civil society to institutionalise peace structures, fast track conflict resolution legislation and sustain inclusive participation in security and development policies.