Lighthouse Rescue Sports Outreach (LRSO) in July 2025 signed a contract to facilitate the Sports for Development (S4D) project under the German Cooperation and GIZ initiative.
In August 2025, the organization deployed three Sports Consultants — Geoffrey Bottson, Choji David Bot, and Yop Bottson — to Taraba State to conduct a week-long training for 30 coaches and 50 players, forming Cohort 1 of the program.
The participants were equipped with practical skills and knowledge on how to use sports as a tool to promote peace, unity, empathy, leadership, and teamwork in their respective communities across Taraba State. The training concluded with a friendly football tournament featuring six teams made up of the trained players, each mentored by five of the newly trained coaches. During the matches, both players and coaches demonstrated the lessons they had learned, showcasing sports as a vehicle for social transformation.
Following the success of the first phase, LRSO returned to Taraba State from October 6–10, 2025, to conduct another week-long Sports for Development (S4D) training for Cohort 2, comprising another set of 30 coaches and 50 players. This second group also benefited from modules on how to use sports to foster peaceful coexistence, strengthen relationships, and build community resilience.
The Sports for Development (S4D) initiative is part of a larger project titled “Strengthening Capacities for Conflict Transformation and Livelihood for Groups in Vulnerable Situations in Nigeria’s Central Zone (PEACECORE II)”. The project engages selected government institutions, non-governmental organizations, national and international consultants, and grassroots actors to support conflict transformation and livelihood security in Taraba, Plateau, and Kaduna States.
These three states have, over the years, faced recurring cycles of violence fueled by ethno-religious tensions, farmer–herder clashes, and competition over land and resources. The conflicts have caused loss of lives, displacement, and erosion of trust among communities.
Recognizing the central role of young people in peacebuilding, Sports for Development leverages the universal appeal of sports to break barriers of language, religion, and ethnicity, creating safe spaces for dialogue, teamwork, and mutual respect. When combined with peace education and inclusion-focused interventions, sports have proven to be an effective means of promoting social cohesion, reducing tensions, and building leadership among youths.
Indeed, sports can play a crucial supporting role in preventing violence and fostering unity in divided societies.
For partnership or expert facilitation in sports-based peacebuilding programs, contact Lighthouse Rescue Sports Outreach (LRSO).
The expected smooth sail for Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang’s re-election in 2027 has taken a hit as another of his kinsmen, Brigadier General, John Sunday Sura (rtd), has picked the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to contest the Plateau State governorship election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Sura who is from the same Mangu Local Government Area as Mutfwang, picked the ADC governorship form on Monday and was presented to the party hierarchy at the national headquarters in Abuja.
While speaking during the presentation, Sura expressed confidence in the electoral process and pledged to introduce fresh ideas aimed at restoring peace and fostering development in the state.
The retired Army General who recently resigned from the All Progressives Congress, APC, said his decision to join the governorship race was driven by an urgent need to address insecurity, promote economic prosperity and rebuild peaceful coexistence.
“I am driven by what matters now on the Plateau, which is the safety of lives and property, prosperity and the conviction to establish Plateau as a haven for mutually beneficial coexistence among the good people of Plateau State and beyond,” Sura said.
While expressing optimism that his political movement would usher in a new phase of collective progress, the retired Army chief turned politician said, “This will be the beginning of the best collective movement for the new Plateau State. My ambition is not centered on personal gains but on what matters now to the people of the state.”
Sura’s entry into the governorship fray is seen by political observers in the state as a litmus test for Mutfwang as they see it as whittling his political base as the votes would be split during the election.
Before Sura’s entry, two other prominent political figures in Mangu, Sunny Garba Biggs and Jude Eli Dakur had also resigned from the APC to pursue their governorship ambitions in other political parties.
While Biggs had since declared his ambition on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dakur, a former strong ally of the governor, has pitched his tent with the ADC where he also declared his gubernatorial ambition.
Dakur, a former Commissioner of Education and Mineral Development, defected from the APC in April 2026 and has since launched his campaign which many believe is a big threat to Mutfwang’s second term as he (Dakur) is one of the most popular politicians from Mangu. It is believed that he will definitely split Muftwang’s votes in 2027.
Tension is gradually building within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State as concerned stakeholders have called on the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to immediately disclose the names of officials selected to oversee the forthcoming governorship, Senate, and State House of Assembly primaries.
The group, operating under the banner Concerned APC Stakeholders for Electoral Transparency in Plateau State, said the call followed extensive consultations with party members and grassroots leaders across Jos and other parts of the state. According to them, transparency in the process has become necessary, especially following recent controversies surrounding the House of Representatives primaries.
The stakeholders warned that failure to make the identities of the electoral committee members public could fuel suspicion, uncertainty, and mistrust among party faithful ahead of the highly anticipated exercises. They stressed that openness and fairness remain key to preserving unity and confidence within the party.
They further urged the APC national leadership to uphold democratic principles by ensuring a level playing field for all aspirants, noting that growing political activities and heightened interest ahead of the next electoral cycle make credibility in the process more important than ever.
