The Tolon District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has held phase two of the Inter-party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) meeting to promote public awareness on preventing extremist groups from entering the country.

The day’s event, held at Tolon in the Northern Region, was also to discuss ways to promote peace and tolerance as the country approached this year’s general election.

It was attended by the leadership of political parties in the area, religious leaders, youth groups, persons living with disabilities, and heads of departments.

It formed part of the Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism project being implemented by the NCCE with funding support from the European Union.

Hawawu Abdul-Rahman, Tolon District Director of NCCE, speaking during the meeting at Tolon, said it was to sensitise participants on the need to guard against extremist activities, especially as the country approached this year’s elections.

She touched on misinformation and disinformation and urged members of the public to desist from spreading fake information to avoid violence and conflicts in the country.

She said, “The beauty of our democracy rests in our ability to respect and tolerate opposing views without using violence.”

Mr Abukari Adamu, a retired educationist in the district, who facilitated the meeting, identified building the skills of young people as a viable tool to counter violent extremism in the country.

He explained that if the youth were meaningfully engaged, they would not be lured into extremist activities.

He called for collective efforts in monitoring and detecting threats and vulnerabilities to violent extremism.

Madam Samata Abu Zakaria, Tolon District Director, Electoral Commission (EC) spoke about the duties of the EC saying “We don’t determine winners of elections. Our job is to supervise free and fair elections devoid of violence.”

She reiterated the commitment of the EC to ensure that all parties involved in the upcoming general election were treated fairly.

Participants pledged to complement the efforts of all stakeholders in ensuring peace, harmony, and tolerance in communities.