By Golok Nanmwa
Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Professor Ayo Omotayo, has apologised to the Berom people over remarks he made during a television interview after the attempted attack on the institute, saying they were misconstrued and never intended to blame the ethnic group for the incident.
The position of the Director-General was contained in a statement signed by Dr Osime Samuel, the Head, Public Affairs, NIPSS, Kuru and made available to journalists in Jos on Tuesday.
In a letter addressed to the Gbong Gwom Jos and Chairman of the Plateau State Council of Chiefs and Emirs, His Royal Majesty Da Jacob Gyang Buba, the NIPSS Director-General expressed profound regret over the misunderstanding arising from his comments and appealed for calm.
He explained that while responding to questions on a rapidly evolving security situation, he merely referred to reports and speculations already in the public domain, stressing that he neither intended to attribute responsibility for the attempted attack to the Berom people nor suggest the existence of any organised militia associated with Berom people.
