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By Paul Williams
The Universal Peace Builders Association (UPA) has concluded plans to extend its advocacy for violence‑free elections to the 23 local government areas of Rivers State.
The advocacy will include LGA‑to‑LGA town hall meetings and training of peace volunteers across the state.
UPA’s Secretary General, Amb Charity H. Sunday, said the move formed part of resolutions contained in a communique issued at the end of UPA’s second peace conference held on September 25, 2026 at the Amphitheatre, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, with the theme “Promoting Peaceful Elections: Building Trust and Stability.”
The conference, which convened stakeholders including security agencies, academia, youth and women groups, observed that electoral violence is a major threat to trust and stability at the grassroots and that most electoral violence starts from communities.
The communique, signed by Secretary General Charity H. Sunday, also noted a gap between peace advocacy at the state capital and peace action at the grassroots, adding that local government chairmen are critical stakeholders in preventing electoral violence.
To bridge the gap, UPA resolved that the message of peaceful elections must be taken to the grassroots, with the association embarking on LGA‑to‑LGA advocacy and town hall meetings.
It further resolved to partner with the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), traditional institutions and security agencies to train a 20‑man LGA Peace Volunteers team in each of the 23 local government areas.
The conference also resolved to adopt the Mayor of Port Harcourt as Champion for Peaceful Elections, while calling on all political actors to “say YES to Peace and NO to Violence.”
In the communique, Amb Sunday stated: “The conference… observed that electoral violence is a major threat to trust and stability at the grassroots and that most electoral violence starts from communities.”
She added: “It therefore resolved that the message of peaceful elections must be taken to the grassroots, that UPA shall embark on LGA‑to‑LGA advocacy and town hall meetings, and shall partner with ALGON, traditional institutions and security agencies to train 20‑man LGA Peace Volunteers in each LGA.”
